City of Lost Dreams
by Hazel Blackwood
Summary: In a world where corruption is a daily ritual, the young adult Koala tries to find her way to lead the life she always wanted to have. When she meets another student called Sabo however, everything changes for the both of them and not in a pleasuring way. (AU) [SaboxKoala] City of Lost Dreams 2 is on its way too!
1. Chapter 1

**_Welcome!_**

 ** _I started yet another story, but this time I am highly motivated and have 8 chapters ready for you all! I'm posting the first one to see what everyone's thoughts on it are, so please leave your thoughts as I enjoy reading and answering them!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece obviously. There are some minor characters I made however._**

 ** _Please enjoy!_**

 ** _ps: The fanart is made by this artist:_** ** _ezariaumiko_** _**on Deviantart!**_ _**(Permission granted)**_

* * *

 _ **City of Lost Dreams**_

'' _Long ago there was a young girl who lived to please her masters. If she would try to run away then a bomb placed in a chain of metal around her neck would explode.  
She dreamed of her parents. She dreamed of a free life where she didn't have to work. She dreamed of a life where she wouldn't be punished in merciless ways whenever she left a dirty spot on the floor. The young girl also dreamed about the sea.  
After a while she gave up. She saw no chance of being free. The mark of the Noble families that was branded on her back was the very proof of that. It showed she was no longer a human. She had no right to 'live' according the law.  
A few years later however a man managed to break free from the Nobles. He freed all the slaves that were present at MarieJoa.  
The girl, Koala, was one of them. An old man helped her and they escaped to another country. _

_When the man called Fisher Tiger showed up in that country with his friends the old man who took care of Koala, asked Fisher to take her back to her own village.  
They showed him the mark that made her a slave and Fisher Tiger took her along with him. As soon as she set foot on his ship, he branded her with another mark. The mark of the sun.  
It meant she was free, but Koala didn't understand that at first. _

_She was terrified._

 _What if they would do the same thing as the Celestial Dragons?_

 _Would they punish her if she didn't mop the deck?_

 _Koala pleaded. '' Please don't punish me! I'll do my work! So please don't punish me! '' She kept saying with a big smile on her face.  
Another man sat a few feet away from her with his legs crossed. He introduced himself as Jinbei. _

_All Fisher's friends used to be slaves. He freed them too and they formed a crew. After seeing the girl they knew she was traumatized by the many years of enslavement._

 _Her hair was all tangled, her clothes dirty and that smile on her face never faded. She was used to pleasing her masters. She did everything she could to avoid their punishment._

 _A young girl._

 _A human girl._

 _How were they supposed to help her? Why did they feel obliged to help her?_

 _Fisher Tiger decided however, they would bring her back to her village._

 _With that, Hachi, another comrade, took her apart and began to comb her hair. He made clothes for her and managed to change her entire look._

 _An innocent child._

 _That's what they saw._

 _Because of the kindness they showed, Koala couldn't help but cry. It was the first time she let out those tears since years._

 _She almost forgot what the word 'kindness' meant. She began to appreciate the Sun mark on her back._

 _Months passed and Koala grew to understand these men who were discriminated against because they weren't seen as humans just like her. She started to call Fisher Tiger 'Uncle' and helped out whenever she wanted. She didn't have to abide by the Nobles' rules any longer._

 _When they reached her village, Koala had to say goodbye._

 _Thanking them for their help and concern, Koala took her uncle's hand and he walked her back to her home._

 _Her parents and the other villagers stood at the entrance, waiting for her. Her mother took her in her arms and Koala never felt this happy before. She told them about her uncle Fisher Tiger and her parents smiled at her._

 _Waving at her uncle and thanking him for all he's done for her, Koala was glad she was finally able to say she was free. She was going to lead a free life and when she grew up, she'd visit Baltigo and see her other new family once more._

 _Fisher Tiger was on his way to his car when Marine Soldiers appeared form everywhere. They surrounded him and shot him to_ _ **death**_ _._

 _Koala didn't see this, nor did she know about this._

 _Her parents and the villagers however.. They did. ''_

* * *

 **12 years later:**

I've never told this to anyone else before. You'll be the first one to know.

Let me be clear: This is not a diary. I don't like being melodramatic, so I'm really going to tell you what exactly happened.

First of all, the strange text in cursive about a little girl called Koala? That's a nightmare I've been having for years.

It happens during a Sleep Paralysis. Do you know what that is? No? I'll explain it then. It happens during the time your body is waking up. There are times when something goes wrong in the connection between your brains and muscles. Your mind is waking up while your muscles are still 'asleep'. When you enter a Sleep Paralysis you will literally be paralyzed. You kind of wake up. At least, you think you're awake, because you start to panic. Anyone would after you find out your body won't move no matter how hard you try. So the fear you feel at that moment is as real as fear can be. That's no fun, believe me. I've got SP's frequently. Some people see dead bodies or hear a voice. Other people even see a 'demon' strangling them.

To me, it happens differently. A man is sitting on my bed next to me. I can't see him, I only hear him. He has a deep voice and reads the story about me from when I was little. That's what scares me so much. It's not the paralyzed thing that scares me, I got used to that. It's the fact I have to hear my past over and over again every time I enter an SP. I can't call out to anyone. My mouth feels thick and literally shut off and my body won't move. Knowing no one will be able to help me… That's just.. Yeah, you get my point right?

You know what else makes an SP so terrifying? It looks too damn real. You feel the fear, you can't move and then there's this man telling you a story about yourself from your past.

That's what I'm so scared of. So naturally, I don't like going to sleep.

Uncle Jinbei tried to give me all kinds of tea, milk, a dream catcher and other stuff to make sure I have a calm night.

But it doesn't work.. Somehow this SP happens once a week or once in two weeks, depending on how stressed I am.

Oh, never mind the diary thing. I guess it's pretty melodramatic after all huh? So to move on to a more positive subject, let me tell you about myself and uncle Jinbei.

As you know already, I'm Koala! It's nice to meet you.

I am 23 years old and I'm attending my final year in college. I'm studying history and need to come up with a project for my final exams.

I have orange hair that barely reaches my shoulders. I've got blue eyes, I often smile for some odd reason and love wearing pink clothes.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not the typical 'IT-girl' that loves wearing make-up and does manicures every other day. Nah, I only wear mascara and my nails.. yeah.. let's skip that.

My uncle Jinbei, as you may know, is late uncle Tiger's best friend. He's been my caretaker for the past ten years because I kind of ran away from home.. I'd like to explain that, but I promised to talk about positive stuff right?

Well, uncle is a peaceful man who was never lucky with finding a good job. He settled with sailing daily to catch fish and sell it on the black market. It's not much, but he's happy. That counts too I guess. I have a weekend job myself. I work in a book store in the city Baltigo which makes me happy too because of all the books I get to read for free.

Seriously, if you don't have much money but you are a bookworm then yeah.. a job in a book store could come in handy.

It's just the two of us at home. He doesn't have a wife nor children. He sees me as his own daughter however.. and that's okay. We're family and Jinbei is a great 'dad' even though I got used to call him: Uncle instead..

So this is a small introduction about the two of us and you're probably thinking: But what is it she wants to tell us?

Well, I actually just wanted to tell you my story. Is that okay with you? It would be great if you would keep this tab open and read on, because someone who listens to my full story.. that would make me feel good I guess.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll find hidden messages in this story. Messages about life and the way we see it.

Ah well! Feel free to close the tab or scroll on to read the story. Be my guest!

* * *

 **Koala:**

Koala closed her notebook. Why did she write that down? Authors all over the internet warned people to be careful when writing about themselves. The chance to get melodramatic was high. She just experienced it herself and cringed already when re-reading the beginning of the first chapter.

It was all true though.. Even the dream. Maybe that's why she didn't like the story. Taking a deep breath and throwing the notebook in her backpack she muttered a curse.

 _Five minutes to go_ , she thought. Then another school day was over and Koala would have to do the groceries for dinner.

Her teacher, miss Nico, was explaining what was known about the time before the World Government took over. As expected, little was known and a lot was covered up.

The teacher however, managed to tell them lots of stories every single time. She was an archeologist, so Koala guessed it would only be obvious miss Nico knew a lot about the time before the WG came into existence.  
The woman was only seven years older than Koala and had long raven colored hair which made the younger one a bit jealous. No one in her classes dared to say anything while she was talking and everyone always listened carefully to the teacher's stories. She knew how to make the class listen alright. Miss Nico kept her classes interesting by pulling you back into time. For Koala, it was the same sensation she had when reading books. She entered a different world. That was also the kind of author she wanted to be, but she still had a long way off before she would reach that stage.

The bell rang and miss Nico wished everyone a good evening. Grabbing her stuff together and stuffing them in her bag, Koala ran outside into the hallway.

When she was about to reach the door to get her bicycle, an announcement was made. The principal's deep voice was heard throughout the entire school.

'' Would mister Ace D. Portgas please report in the office, immediately thank you. ''

People around her started laughing and muttered things like: '' Someone is in trouble.. '' and '' That guy again? Isn't he always in trouble? ''

Koala couldn't blame them for thinking this. The principal hardly showed himself except for the times someone was in trouble indeed. This Ace guy got himself into trouble quite often it seemed..

Sighing, she opened the door and was met with the pleasant fresh air of the late summer. A small smile played around her lips as she started to search for her bicycle.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

Sprinting towards the classroom after the principal made the announcement, Sabo got ready to scold the damned fool for getting himself into trouble once again.  
He almost reached the door when a girl stopped him.

'' Sabo! Sabo! Wait! I wanted to ask if you have any plans this weekend. '' The girl had blond hair and looked as if she visited a beauty salon five minutes ago. He got this question a lot lately ever since some student found out he and Ace were sworn brothers. Sabo didn't get why and what was so attractive about him. He had wavy, almost curly blond hair that didn't reach his shoulders, a scar over his left eye and he always wore blouses with baggy pants. They weren't even jeans.. He didn't really care about his clothes, nor did he care what he looked like when he had to go to school. But somehow, people still treated him like some royalty… Everywhere he went they would try to get in contact with him. His sworn brothers always joked around about it, but he hated it. They didn't know him.. so why were they assuming things so easily?  
Not wanting to insult the girl, because hell, he didn't even know her name, he politely refused the offer.

'' I suppose this is an invitation to spend a day together miss? I have to disappoint you however. I already made plans with my not so clever brothers. '' He bowed his head slightly while the girl looked startled. If she wasn't wearing so much make-up, her red face would have revealed her embarrassment for sure. He tried to make it look like a polite joke, but she definitely didn't like it, or did.. since her friends started giggling.

He moved on, leaving the girl with her giggly friends alone and entered the classroom.

His brother, Ace, was sitting on the teacher's desk and pleaded for a better grade.

'' C'mon Marco! This is unfair! You know we were busy repairing that motor cycle last night. '' The freckled man pouted. '' Even if you're my teacher, we're still family right? Right? ''

The man called Marco sat on the chair behind the desk. Sabo never really understood his haircut. The sides were bald and the blond hair on the top of his head made him look like a pineapple. For Ace, that was too important. He saw this as a golden chance to pull pranks on Marco.

The man eyed tired as always and sighed. '' Haven't you heard pops? He wants you in his office. You know he doesn't like it when you're late. ''

'' Don't ignore my question Marco! What if pops wants to see me because of the grade huh? I blame you! '' He looked stubbornly at the pineapple and before Marco could respond Sabo coughed.

'' Yo. '' He stated. Sabo was used seeing Ace like this. This was kind of a daily ritual..

'' Sabo! You tell him! Oh wait.. You weren't there yesterday when I had to repair the motorcycle.. '' With sunken shoulders he jumped off the desk and strolled towards the door. '' Never mind.. I'll just face my wrath.. ''

Ace has always been the kind of guy when he wanted something, he'd get it. So naturally, he didn't get what he wanted many times, because his dear family knew him too well. Sabo and Ace differed a lot in both looks and personality. While Ace was the more outgoing and careless type, Sabo was gentler and thoughtful. They both loved sarcasm however..

Their looks differed too. Ace had straight black hair that didn't reach his shoulders, freckles over his upper cheeks and nose and he spent many hours in the gym to train his body. Sabo however, was more of the type that would shut himself in his room to write stories and listen to music all day.

Sabo smiled apologetically at Marco who looked unimpressed at Ace.

Holding up a hand, he followed his brother.

'' Oi, you'll cover for me right? You always know how to talk to people. '' Ace muttered while they strolled through the hallways.

'' Because talking is so hard… '' Sabo answered sarcastically. He walked to another wing of the building, the teachers' offices.

Ace whispered back as they were supposed to stay quiet in this part. '' You know what I mean! That fancy language thingy of yours! Maybe pops will fall for that! ''

As they reached the principal's office, the principal was also Ace's adoptive father by the way, they knocked on the door and entered after a grumpy old voice said: '' Come in. ''

What Sabo saw however, explained everything. Their little brother, Sabo had two brothers, Luffy was sitting on a chair in front of the desk. He looked nervous and jumped when they entered. '' I swear! '' He ran towards them. '' I didn't do it on purpose! Uncle is angry with me Ace.. '' A small tear appeared in his eye and the boy moved from one foot to another uncomfortably.

'' Luffy… '' Ace and Sabo both responded a bit surprised and not so surprised because they could have expected this already.

'' He managed to eat the entire lunch in the cafeteria. '' The principal, Edward Newgate, sat behind his desk. He was an old man with gray hair and wrinkles all over his face. He looked like someone you shouldn't mess with. He had a strong-looking body and a moustache that was maybe one foot long.

This was Luffy's first day in college and he already messed up. '' It's food! Don't put it in such an obvious way! I can't help myself when there's food. '' The boy said with his round pleading eyes.

Crazily enough, Ace and Luffy looked a lot like each other. They had almost the same hairstyle and the same odd habits like falling asleep randomly, eating everything within reach and not caring about the rest of the world at all.

And yes. Sabo had these habits too ever since he lived with them.

'' Did you follow the smell, Lu? '' Sabo said.

The boy pouted and refused to answer.

Sighing, Ace took place on the chair and asked how much money the food cost.

'' Don't bother. Just keep an eye on your little brother Ace. '' Sir Newgate answered. '' I can't really give him detention either since this is college and not High School. I'll let you off just this once boy. Learn to behave yourself. ''

'' You heard him buddy. '' Ace said while looking at the nineteen year old boy.

Luffy pouted. '' I really couldn't help it.. ''

'' It will probably go on like this for a while, uncle. '' Sabo stated. Luffy would never understand why he couldn't eat food at times. It was his one big hobby no one could take away from him. '' He kind of has a hard time following rules. ''

'' Exactly! What Sabo said! '' The boy added.

One stern glare from the old man was enough to make them all fall quiet however.

Ace sighed. '' Pops, will you be with us when we have dinner? ''

'' I have to work late, so I'll eat with Marco later on. '' The step-dad continued after seeing Ace's pout. '' Why the long face? You'll stay with us during the weekend right? ''

Ever since Ace started college he lived with Luffy instead of his other family. His other family existed of many other brothers, well, adoptive brothers since Edward Newgate adopted them all.

'' Yeah, but I just hoped you'd eat with us tonight. You know, to get to know Sabo and Luffy some more. ''

Sabo was starting to get uncomfortable. He and Luffy didn't really know uncle Edward that well. He visited all his sons' homes from time to time. Today it was Ace's turn, but uncle Edward is a very busy man and no matter how much time he'd like to spend with them, some days were just impossible.

'' I know Ace and I'm sorry. I really am. I promise you, one day next week I will join you for dinner. '' He smiled a little and nodded at the other two brothers. '' Well then, school's over. What are you waiting for? Go enjoy your weekend brats. '' With that he stood up and left through a door behind his desk.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Note: I want to thank my sweet Beta's for proofreading the chapters!**_

 _ **Because there are people who actually followed the story and a review has been placed, I want to thank you all with yet another chapter! Enjoy ^^**_

* * *

 **Koala:**

She was reading a folder for a possible application. She wanted to join a club this last year to get some more experience in her future career. There were several clubs organized by students for students in college. You could join them every year and have appointments at least twice a week, plus events from time to time like going to a bar or watch a movie to get to know the other club-members.  
Since she has been so insecure however, Koala was really hesitating whether it was a good idea or not. The girl read the folder at least three times and had it filled in already, but she still hadn't actually applied yet. Next Monday was the deadline so she was planning to have a good talk about it with uncle Jinbei, even though she knew what he would say already.

Koala and uncle Jinbei lived in a small apartment close to the shore. The reason was because of Jinbei's work and they couldn't really afford much, so they had to go with this. Even though it was small and the smell of the sea and fish hung in the air all the time, Koala loved it here. The sailors and merchants were really nice people and Koala got to see some rare stuff from abroad sometimes. It was a poor part of the city, but a part she was proud of to live there.  
Once home, Koala put the paper back in her bag and took off her shoes. She wanted to change into her pajamas, but she had to prepare dinner first. Uncle Jinbei came home after fifteen minutes and put a fish on the counter. '' Good afternoon Koala. '' He greeted. He had a pale skin and black long hair from which a part was tied into a knot with hairpins. He was wearing one of his kimono's and flip-flops that matched with his clothes.

'' Hey uncle. So that's going to be our dinner? Want me to cook rice? ''

'' Ah sounds good, I'll prepare the fish then. How was school? '' He washed his hands and took out a knife.

Koala hesitated for a moment and started about the flyer for the club. '' Do you really think I can do it? I mean, I'm still terrible at writing and the other club-members are probably experts already. Why else would they join? '' She asked hesitantly.

'' Wasn't the club made to learn how to write? Or at least learn from each other, review books together and such? I'm sure you'll do fine Koala. Don't miss out on this chance. Take it, you'll know whether it was worth it afterwards. Hesitating now won't take you anywhere. '' He replied while cutting open the fish.

'' Well.. Yeah.. '' She didn't really know how else to respond and stared blankly at the water that was about to cook.

One stern look from her uncle was all that was needed to change her mind. '' Koala.. '' He said patiently, knowing her answer.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. '' Fine. I'll do it. '' She said with a pout. '' I'm going to join the club. ''

* * *

 **Sabo:**

 _When Sabo closed his eyes to sleep at night, he dreamed of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and of the birds soaring through the sky. On this particular night however, Sabo's dreams of freedom were out of arms' reach. This time there was a window blocking him from the sea, just like it had when he was younger. Looking around, he realized it was his old room, and the desk in which he sat at was positioned in front of the window like always. At his fingertips he felt the papers for his studies, and a pencil placed in his hand. This brought back feelings of worry and anxiety, feelings of not being good enough, of frustration and wanting to be free._

 _Suddenly, he heard something familiar, something he feared, heavy footsteps echoed through the room, someone was coming up the stairs. A shadow appeared in the doorway, a tall hat lay upon his head. A voice boomed through the room, screaming endless amounts of anger. Tears rolled down Sabo's face, the shadow, now a man, continued to scream. Through his tears the small child could see that the man was his father, one person he feared the most, the man who crushed his dreams and made him fear his own life, and feel hatred for the first time._

 _The man's voice was at its highest now, he continued to scream. "Do you hear me?" he roared, grabbing his belt. He was so angry, but Sabo couldn't understand why. He looked down at his papers, seeing a large red 'F' written on it within a circle. He felt guilty and disappointed in himself, he understood what was coming next, and he'd take it because he felt he deserved it now._

 _Readying his belt, Outlook looked down upon his son, pathetically crying and begging for forgiveness. The man struck his son, belting him several times before huffing out of the room._

 _Sabo, now on the floor, wailed in pain. He felt alone, he felt helpless, his world was crumbling in on itself and his heart felt as if someone was squeezing it tightly. Who was he supposed to be? What was his purpose in life? Why was he such a failure?_

 _Everything went black, his body felt numb and there was a faint ringing in the distance._

 _Sabo opened his eyes, he was back in the revolutionary base, in his room. He lay there, his body still mostly numb, his heart still in pain as he could feel every place the belt had hit him, his scars burned. Quietly he sobbed, wishing he could forget it all, wishing he had never felt the pain in the first place._

 _(A/N: Written by a dear friend: Saboners on Tumblr.)_

* * *

Why did he write this down again? It was way too sad.. A strange feeling entered his body when he read his work over. What was it? Weakness? He didn't know. This was highly unusual for him. What he did know was that this was way too true. It described his childhood perfectly. The strange thing was, he did dream about this. He thought it would be a good idea for a novel to write it down, but all it did was leave him with an empty feeling he couldn't even describe. And the part of the revolutionary base..? What was he thinking when he woke up and thought such a thing? Maybe he could turn it into a story, but then it would be too personal for his taste.

He took the parchment where he wrote it on and placed it in a drawer of his desk. Sabo liked writing on parchment with ink and a feather. It was old fashioned and not a used method any longer, but Sabo really liked using it. Somehow it gave him more inspiration when he was writing fantasy based stories.

It was a warm Monday morning. Sabo always woke up earlier because it took him fifteen minutes to wake his two brothers up. He dressed himself and walked over to Luffy and Ace's room. Sabo had a room of his own because the other two hated cleaning and Sabo always had his cleaned up. He entered the bed room and was met with a smell of rotten food lying on the floor somewhere.

'' How typical.. '' He muttered as he maneuvered through all the clothes scattered around. He first shook Ace by his shoulder. '' Wake up! It's time for school you fool. ''

Ace didn't react and kept snoring

'' Ace! Wake up! Breakfast is ready! '' And that did the trick. They both jerked up their heads, Ace's eyes still closed however. '' I'll be there in a minute pops.. '' He muttered in response.

'' I'm not your pops! It's Sabo. You better wake up now. It's Monday. ''

Luffy jumped out of his bed and screamed. '' I CAN FINALLY TELL USOPP ABOUT MY DREAM! ''

Sabo turned around. '' Dream? What kind of dream? ''

'' About Hercules! I found one! '' He replied excited.

Ace stood up and rubbed his eyes. '' Hercules is dead Lu. ''

The boy's face turned from happy to sad in a split second. '' What do you mean? He's dead? ''

Sabo sighed and bumped the other older brother on his head. '' Not Hercules from Greece you fool. He's talking about a beetle. ''

'' Isn't Hercules from Rome? ''

'' What do you know about Rome mythology? ''

'' Absolutely nothing. '' Ace sat on his bed cross legged and had a stern look.

'' Then don't speak. '' Sabo simply stated and he threw some clothes to Luffy. '' Get yourself dressed Lu. I'll go prepare breakfast now. ''

'' YOU SAID IT WAS READY ALREADY! '' They both yelled.

'' It's morning! Don't scream! '' Sabo couldn't believe how they had that energy so early. The neighbors already complained so many times and threatened they'd call the police once too..

Sabo walked downstairs to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He took out some eggs and bacon and placed them on the counter. Then, he turned on the oven to warm the bread and placed a steel pan on the stove. He approached the fridge once more to take the butter and turned on the fire in the stove.

Waiting for the butter to melt, Ace came in and sat on one of the chairs. He yawned and tried to tie his tie, which he still didn't manage to do after three years of being in college.

After a few seconds he gave up and shrugged. '' I'll ask Marco then. '' He concluded after giving Sabo a questionable look. He knew Sabo would never again tie it for him. He got tired of it and didn't have as much patience as Marco-pineapple did.

Sabo ticked on the eggs repetitively with a fork and let the substance slide into the steel pan. Leaving the eggs to bake on a soft fire, he took the bacon that made a hissing sound when touching the bottom of the steel pan and sprinkled some salt to give them some more taste.

'' Is it ready yet? '' Ace asked bored.

'' Can you please wait another minute? Where is Lu at? '' The blond took out three plates and the juice from the fridge. '' Get some glasses for the juice, will you? ''

Ace noticed Sabo wasn't behaving like he normally was. He seemed a bit grumpy, which was normally Ace's job, but writing down that dream really might have been a bad idea. '' You alright? '' The freckled man asked as Sabo expected. The three brothers always knew whenever something wasn't right.

'' Fine.. Just a bad dream I guess. '' He knew Ace wouldn't ask any further. Ace had these nightmares quite often himself.

'' Hmm.. '' Ace stood up and walked towards the door after placing the glasses on the table. '' Luffy! What are you doing?! '' He yelled trying to get the boy to answer.

'' I'm coming! I'm just apping with Nami! '' A muffled voice from upstairs answered.

'' Leave the poor girl alone for once will you?! You're always bugging her with your prank messages! '' After the two older brothers heard a soft chuckle from upstairs, Ace sighed. '' He's going to get it at school alright. ''

'' Yup. Unfortunately, he'll never learn his lessons.. '' Sabo smiled a little. '' He's so typical.. ''

'' YOU COMING YET?! '' The freckled man yelled again.

Sabo cringed at the sudden loud voice and scowled. '' Damn it Ace! Stop screaming already!'' He placed the eggs and bacon on the plates and put them on the table. '' Breakfast's ready. '' He muttered.

For some particular reason the youngest of the three was suddenly sitting at the table, ready to eat.

* * *

 **Koala:**

 _Everything was a blur. The seven year old girl could barely make anything out through her tears. She cried for her parents, her uncle Tiger, her uncle Jinbei, anyone.. Her chest hurt, her back burned and her throat was sore because of all the screaming._

 _Didn't anyone understand she was terrified? She didn't want to go back to that scary place with these scary big humans who would punish her._

 _While the tears ran down her face, she couldn't get rid of that scary smile. If she stopped smiling they would punish her right? She couldn't show them she was weak. If she made another mistake…_

 _Koala cried out once more. They weren't here. No one was here._

 _Tired, the girl tried to look around once more. She still couldn't make out much. Rubbing her eyes, she started to walk forward. Slowly, but surely, she managed to take more and more steps._

 _In the far distance a big house showed up. The sun was coming up behind it. It was dawn and the sky colored pink. The rest of the place was covered with a stone pavement._

 _When Koala got closer to the house, she started to see what kind of house it was. It was a villa._

 _A big villa._

 _Knowing what that meant, the girl wanted to turn around. After all, that must have been a noble's house. She didn't want to go back to the nobles. They would hurt her because she cried._

 _She ran away again back to where she came from._

'' _Wait! What's wrong? What happened to you?! '' A boy's voice yelled. Because Koala was too scared, she started to run faster. Did he live in that house?_

'' _Wait! '' He screamed once more. Apparently, he was able to run really fast and caught up to her in no time. He took her by her arm and made her turn around. '' Who did this to you? '' He said with a lower voice. He had blond short and curly hair, bright blue eyes and wore clothes a noble would wear._

 _Automatically, Koala sank to the floor and hit her head on the pavement. '' I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I'll do better from now on! So please don't punish me! ''_

 _For some reason her shirt was tattered now and the mark of the nobles was shown. '' P-Please don't punish me! '' She said with a shaking voice while still smiling._

 _The boy took her hands and made her stand up. '' I'm not going to punish you! Come on! Let's run away! There is no way in hell I'm going to stay here any longer! ''_

 _Koala was confused and didn't know what to do, how to react or maybe she had to apologize once more?_

* * *

That moment, the young woman woke up and touched her cheeks. They were wet and just like the younger version in her dream, she didn't know what to think or do about this. Panting and panicking, Koala sat up straight and wiped her tears. She wanted to forget the dream, immediately. Didn't they normally slowly disappear after a while? She had to concentrate her thoughts on something else before she would start to recall more and more details about the nightmare. Was it even a nightmare? Who was the little boy who was trying to help her?

Koala noticed she was starting to question it, while she just made up her mind to concentrate her thoughts elsewhere. She stood up, stumbled towards the small bathroom in the hallway and washed her face. It was Monday morning. She had half an hour to get ready, prepare lunch for school and leave. She also had to leave earlier so she would have enough time to turn in the filled in form so she could join the Writers' Club.

She wasn't going to write down this dream. Definitely not. That way she would recall the entire dream with every detail included, while she was trying to forget it instead.

Gulping and still shaken, Koala wets her hair to make the out-of-bed-look disappear. _Don't think about it,_ she told herself.

Her eyes were still red and her cheeks flushed. When she tried to grab the hairbrush, she missed by an inch and made it fall on the ground because her hands were still shaking. _Come on Koala. You're not going to break down because of a dream!? It isn't even a memory_ , she told herself again.

The young adult took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the tears from falling and concentrated on other things. After two minutes, Koala managed to calm her nerves and make the tears back down.

She now had a stern look in her eyes and picked up the hairbrush. Brushing her hair and teeth, applying mascara to her eyelashes and taking off her pajamas to clean her body with a washcloth, Koala got ready for school. She went back to her room to dress herself in comfortable clothes and walked downstairs.  
Uncle Jinbei was already at the docks to get the fish he needed to sell at the black market. He didn't really have a license. This was the only way he could get some money to make a living. Together with Koala's money from the bookstore, they barely had enough to live a 'normal' life. She was fine with this though. She'd rather be poor and be happy whenever she fought for something to be hers than to be rich and have everything for granted.

Koala prepared her lunch and backpack for school. She was still tired and feeling a bit numb in her head because of the dream, but other than that, she was starting to feel better again. After having finished breakfast she left on her bike for another week full of boring classes.

She quickly walked to the part of the building where all the teachers had their offices and searched for Nico Robin's label. Once she found it and carefully opened the door she peeked inside and saw she was talking to another young man. Koala gulped. She saw him walking around before. He had blond wavy hair and sea blue eyes what made many girls fall for him. Or was it the accent that made them fan girl? Koala didn't really understand why he was so popular, but then again: That was school logic right? The most perfect looking ones with an astonishing smile were bound to be known throughout the building. He did have something that made him probably really interesting for many students. His scar over his left eye. The iris was paler than the other eye and a pink colored burn mark covered half of his left side of the face. Koala wondered if he got in a fire or something. What else could it really be?

She wanted to close the door again and wait until he would be finished but the professor called her inside before she could turn away.

'' Koala? Please, come in. '' Miss Nico said with a smile.

The blond handsome guy turned around and stared at her as if he was trying to remember something.

Nervously, Koala stepped forward clutching to her filled in form to join the club. '' I-I.. '' Knowing she was messing up already, her stomach knotted and it took her a few seconds before she could finish her sentence. '' I have the form for the club.. '' She almost whispered, carefully ignoring the man's gaze.

Miss Nico's smile grew wider. '' So you're joining after all! We'll be looking forward to see your work! Right Sabo? '' She asked.

Was he joining too?

Instead of answering the teacher, he took a few steps forward and grinned, showing his white teeth. '' I remember seeing you on a party last year! The one on uncle Edward's birthday! You were with Boss Jinbei right? '' All of the sudden he approached the girl and took her paper.

Koala's eyes grew wide as he read her data.

'' Koala.. So it's true! You are Boss Jinbei's associate! He adopted you! I remember him saying that! It's so nice to see you again! ''

While he was rambling on and on about a party she had almost completely forgotten already, she was still busy with the thought about him reading her data.

'' Sabo, I don't think it's appropriate to take others' forms without asking first. I'm sure you know to do that at least by now. '' Miss Nico answered.

The girl grabbed the paper and brought it to the desk with an annoyed look. Why did he assume he could just take someone's data and read it through? She didn't really remember him, nor did she actually care.

A sudden realization struck her. She was going to have to see this guy from now on and show him her work. '' W-When do we start? '' She stuttered to the teacher.

'' Next week. I'll see you then, Koala. '' She winked and the girl immediately turned around again to leave. She passed the blond who wanted to say something but she completely ignored him and walked out.

Instead of leaving the teachers' workplace, she took a turn to the right side of the hallway towards the far end and knocked on the headmaster's office. As soon as she heard: '' Come in. '' She opened the door and walked in.

Taking a deep breath she smiled at her headmaster. '' Good morning sir. ''

'' Good morning Koala. Had a good weekend? Did you think of joining any clubs yet? ''

'' I did, sir. Thank you. And I just joined the Writer's Club. '' She took a seat on one of the comfortable chairs before his big desk.

'' Hm. With miss Nico eh? I hope you'll have a good time with her. That means you're here for the expenses. Am I right? ''

With a slight blush, because this had always been an awkward part of her school life, Koala nodded.

'' No need to be shy Koala. I'm glad you made the choice. You don't look very happy however. Anything else I can help you with? '' He always had that stern look in his eyes, knowing exactly what you're thinking. Call it a 'grand-pa' thing but this man had an ability for knowing whenever there was something going on.

She looked up and smiled a little. '' It's nothing important. Just some guy taking the paperwork out of my hand and starting to read my data. He said he knew me from the party your sons organized last year, but I don't remember him. I am happy to join by the way! It's just that he will be there too. ''

It probably looked weird to say all her small worries to her headmaster, but he was someone she really started to look up too. He helped her out in times even Jinbei couldn't be of much help. He gave her a full scholarship to study in college and made sure she had a safe and stable life. You could say he was her benefactor, but he preferred the term: Guardian. She had always been very grateful for all he did for her and uncle Jinbei, but it also made her feel she was indebted to him and that was something he didn't want her to mention at all costs. He did this for many more people and it sort of became his life job to help others as much as possible. He was known for that throughout the country and many people respected him for that. But he was also famous for helping out youths who had a criminal past and such, and for that, people respected him less. Corrupted world right?

'' And what makes you so afraid? You should try to care less Koala. It's a hard thing to do, but there really isn't any point for caring about cheeky boys who make you feel uncomfortable. You know what I'm trying to say right? ''

'' To ignore it? ''

'' That too, but tell people your opinion. Don't be afraid to say what you want. I think that's one of the challenges you face in life, don't you? ''

Koala stayed quiet at that. She knew he was right and he knew she'd admit it, but she couldn't find the words to answer. She tried not to care about the guy and this made her decision final. She nodded at the old man and thanked him.

'' Say hi to your uncle for me, will ya? '' He said before sipping his coffee. '' This stuff is terrible. '' He muttered as Koala walked out with a chuckle.

As soon as she walked out of the door however, the blond stood there whistling softly. '' Oh hey! '' He said happily.

Koala looked offended at the man, thinking he was following her. He realized his mistake and continued. '' No, wait. Really. I'm here for the old man. He's my brother's father. ''

Confused Koala stared at him. Stepfather? Adoptive father? How?

'' I mean, my sworn brother. We have different parents. '' He raised his eyebrows at the awkward misunderstanding and Koala wanted to move on when he grabbed her arm.

'' Wait.. I don't want this thing between us to be awkward. We're going to see each other a lot from now on, so please. I'm sorry for reading into your stuff earlier. That was wrong. ''

'' Was that you, brat? '' The old man Newgate stood behind him all of the sudden and Sabo cringed.

'' I'm sorry uncle! Really! I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable! '' But to make it worse for the blond, Newgate answered: '' Haven't you had enough girls for the time being? ''

Somehow, that made Koala dislike the young man even more.

'' That's just mean, old man. ''

'' If you really want a proper relationship someday, you better learn how to fight for love. It 'ain't an easy battle you know. '' Koala nodded to Newgate and made her way to her first class.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yoo~ Thank you for the positive feedback! It really motivates me and I know how the story is going to end now. So be prepared for a completed story in about two weeks! (If everything goes well of course)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Sabo:**

That was seriously very mean of uncle Edward. He didn't normally care about these kind of things, since Ace made this his life job, but in front of that girl Koala.. Sabo couldn't help but feel guilty. That disliking look she gave him.. She probably had a judgment about him ready as soon as uncle Edward said that. Sabo never really had a relationship.. He did do some things with girls.. but wasn't that part of life? Or was he really becoming a player now? He never cheated or did other unforgiveable things, that wasn't his style after all. He was always honest.  
It was almost impossible to have a normal relationship in college. So Sabo didn't even try to keep one going. He hasn't found 'the special one' yet, so why would he fight for it? Fight for a girl he met in a bar while they were drunk and ending up in his bed just to wake up to find her gone already? Did the old fart know how insecure that made him? He wouldn't say he was bad at doing it.. but it didn't look like all the girls were ready for a relationship either. Not that you could make rational decisions while being drunk anyway..

He looked horrified at the man, still not believing he just did that and made an angry move with his arms. '' Why..? '' He managed to bring out. '' I wasn't even trying to flirt. ''

'' It looks like you don't have to either. You know, Koala is a good girl. ''

'' What are you trying to tell me old fart? ''

'' No idea. You tell me. '' He raised his eyebrows. '' Now get going. Tell Ace not to fall asleep during Marco's classes. It's become a habit. Have a good day brat. '' He closed the door to his office and Sabo scowled. That girl surely hated him now.

He didn't get why the old man would do it. What was he trying to say? He always had a hidden message behind his words. Maybe he should just stop caring because the girl would have to face him many times from now on. He'd manage to make her think differently about him… He didn't like it when people thought badly of him..

He strode to his first class given by Marco and prepared for what was probably going to be another boring day.

Hours passed and Ace managed to fall asleep once more during class hours. Sabo made sure to give Luffy extra food so he wouldn't make any mistakes in the canteen and asked his friends to look out for him even though they already had their hands full with the boy.

Throughout the week he didn't see the girl called Koala much. Only during Robin's classes and somehow she managed to leave as soon as the bell rang which was even faster than him since he held a record for leaving as quickly as possible. So he didn't get to talk to her, not to mention apologize..

Why did he care though? He told himself not to do so and yet he was thinking of her. He wasn't in love, that was sure. It was just an annoying and nagging feeling that kept on telling him this didn't sit right. To be honest, she was one of the women who did dislike him. Maybe that was it. He wasn't used to that.

Friday evening, during dinner with uncle Edward, Sabo wasn't too keen to be friendly with the old man. Ace and Luffy noticed it and they kept on asking what was wrong with him.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the old fart answered. '' He didn't get what he wanted when he was trying to talk to a girl. ''

'' So that's what you were trying to tell me! '' Sabo answered angrily.

'' Was I? '' He didn't seem impressed and somehow, Sabo started hesitating. It was.. right?

'' Never mind. '' He muttered.

Luffy already finished three plates of spaghetti and his mouth and cheeks were covered in tomato sauce. '' Sabo! Sabo! I had a dream last night! I was a pirate and I had this big ship with this flower that looked like a sun and all my friends were with me! ''

The old man started laughing, or more like roaring since his voice was really deep. '' Do you like pirates brat? You don't look too strong though. A pirate's life it tough. ''

'' You're optimistic today. '' Sabo answered with a not so friendly smile.

Edward sighed. '' I don't like having you against me brat. You're my son's brother. I don't want you to dislike me. ''

Sabo looked troubled at him, confused whether he should give in or not. He grunted and continued eating.

One of Luffy's spaghetti strings stuck to uncle Edward's face and the man turned to face the boy.

'' I'm sorry, uncle. '' Luffy said barely being able to hold back his laughter. '' I was trying to eat as many as possible without actually using my fork… ''

'' Looks like it didn't work buddy. '' Ace grinned while helping himself with another serving.

Luffy took the string of spaghetti from the old man's face and ate it. Disgusted, his older brothers looked at him.

'' I don't waste food! '' The boy answered offended.

The old man smiled a little. '' That's one good habit you have brat. Are you going out tonight? ''

The three brothers nodded.

'' I'll see you at the bar then. '' He stood up. '' Thank you for the food. I still need to finish some business before I can start my weekend. Don't forget your underwear tomorrow Ace. ''

Ace choked in surprise and coughed up a meatball that was stuck in his throat. '' Y-You didn't have to say that pops! '' He croaked.

Sabo and Luffy cracked up and said good bye.

Ace turned to Sabo and saw he used a spoon and a fork combined to eat his spaghetti. He burst out in laughter and hit on the table with his fist. '' Still can't get rid of these fancy habits of yours, eh? '' He cried out.

Luffy looked offended at Sabo. '' That's not how you eat spaghetti! You have to put some in your mouth and slurp it. Not twist it with your spoon! Who does that?! ''

'' And slurping it went so well with you.. '' Sabo softly added amused. It was funny to see how differently they all grew up.

* * *

 **Koala:**

'' Koala wants to become a writer. '' Uncle Jinbei said proudly after he tossed a card on the small pile.

Koala smiled awkwardly at Hachi and Aladdin. '' That's a good profession! A difficult path, but a good one. I wish you the best of luck Koala. '' Aladdin answered fondly.

'' So you'll be famous maybe? That's great! '' Hachi also answered with a grin. '' I'll definitely buy your books! ''

'' Thanks guys.. '' She said with a blush. '' Who wants another cup of sake? '' She asked to change the subject. She filled the cups and saw it was her turn now. Looking at her cards, she couldn't really find a good one..

'' How is work? '' She asked while thinking of what to pick next.

'' Hhmm.. '' They all grunted.

'' Not so good eh? '' She looked up worriedly.

'' It could be better. '' Uncle Jinbei answered. '' Taxes have gone up, so naturally the prizes too. People want fish for less money. But we need the money for our bread too. So yes, it doesn't really go well. ''

'' And the Marines are doing more checkups on the market. They're trying to get rid of those without a license. Not really possible if you ask me, but still. It makes it harder for us to sell the fish. '' Aladdin said. He had black long hair which was tied in a ponytail in his neck and a gentle look. He always wore white comfortable looking pants that were tied with a dark red fabric that served as a belt and a black t-shirt. He came from the southern countries when he was small.

Hachi also had his own style. He always wore knee long shorts with flowers imprinted on them and had white hair. He always looked as if he was kind of 'dumb' but really, he was quite the smart man. Just like Jinbei, he was born in the eastern countries.

Koala liked spending her weekends like this. Playing cards, exchanging cups of sake and hearing many stories from these three men who all came from different countries was her definition of a good weekend. She didn't spend much time in bars or at parties. She wasn't really into it because she was quite the awkward one when it came to meeting people. The girl always had a hard time opening up and never knew what to say to people she barely knew.

When she was still in High School uncle Jinbei did tell her once her friends were always welcome.. But Koala didn't have any friends. Not then at least. She was too scared and never told anyone about her fears either. She did open up whenever she drank alcohol but she didn't see that as an advantage or anything.

Late in the evening the young adult decided it was time to go upstairs. Uncle Jinbei won almost all the rounds and they watched some television afterwards. She wished them a goodnight and walked upstairs.

Once in her pajamas she crawled into bed and turned on her old laptop that still miraculously worked after all these years.

She opened Facebook and checked her newsfeed. She had many students as her friends and old students from High school but didn't really talk much to them. Scrolling through the feed she saw one post made by one of the teachers called Marco. The last time she had a good talk with him was on the party last year. She didn't remember much from that evening and definitely not the blond guy called Sabo, but since Marco was also her teacher and mentor, it wasn't really that hard to remember him at least. She'd known him for a long time. He was an adoptive son of the Headmaster. He posted a picture of himself, a freckled black haired guy, a smaller one who looked like the freckled one and.. Sabo.. A little feeling of shock made a turn in her stomach because she didn't expect it. She clicked on Marco's name to see his profile and clicked his pictures. Why? She had no idea. She felt like a stalker but if this was the way to see more of the guy, then why not?

They seemed to be good friends. A lot pictures were from a bar and sometimes some of the guys looked drunk. Except for Marco however, he always seemed to look clean somehow. Sabo was tagged and Koala hesitated. Should she? Who cares? It's not like he would see her doing this right? As long as she didn't mention it whenever she would have to face him..

She clicked on his name and was directed to his profile. Looking at his feed, she saw he had a lot of friends. As expected. He was popular after all. He had a lot of pictures of the other two guys who were in the pictures with Marco. Sabo didn't have a last name however.. It wasn't like Koala still had her original one, but why didn't he put one on Facebook? His reason could be anything right?

She quickly clicked away his profile, seeing it didn't really change her opinion of his. Sir Newgate's words still rang inside her mind. Was he trying to flirt with her? It didn't even look like it, then why would the Headmaster mention it? Sabo looked offended but it wasn't like she couldn't believe sir Newgate. Sabo really did seem the type that could have any girl he wanted at any time.

She was thinking too much again. She opened a program she downloaded to watch series and movies for free and watched the ones that were updated this week. Putting in her earphones, she enjoyed her series and eventually went to bed early in the morning.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

Today was the first meeting of the Writers' Club and Sabo couldn't wait until the end of classes. They would have three meetings a week. They would also have additional events such as going to the cinema or bar to get to know each other, to become friends and such. Robin was the one leading it even though clubs were to be organized by students. She couldn't help herself and joined too. No one minded and actually thought it was pretty cool. This last year the blond was in college he would also lead the club together with Robin. They made a planning at the bar during the weekend together and were pretty excited to see what the other members did over the summer with their writing skills.

He made his way to history class, passing many students and classrooms and took a seat in the far end next to the door to the class. This time he was going to talk with Koala before the club would start. He really didn't want to have to read her work while she hated him. He knew he'd hate it if someone read his precious work while he couldn't stand them.

Taking out his notebook and checking his Facebook on his phone a memory crossed his mind. Ace searched her up on the site because he wanted to know whether he recognized her or not. It was in the bar and they were both already slightly drunk. Or maybe they were just really drunk and not a little. Ace did recognize her and told him his pops funded her study. He made Sabo promise not to say anything about it to anyone, maybe that's why she didn't want him to read her data? Not that it was justified anyway to just grab the paper but still. Maybe there was a reason she didn't want to show him the form?

When Robin ticked on the chalkboard with her metal stick to notify the students her class was about to start, Sabo quickly put away his phone and noticed Koala was already sitting on her chair. When did she come in? Was he really that busy with his own thoughts to forget what happened around him?

He took his pen and opened his notebook on a new page. This time Robin started about the Celestial Dragons, the nobles of the country. Sabo hated that subject more than anything. He put down his pen and rested his head on his arms, keeping his eyes open and yet not listening to the teacher. He didn't see Koala was quite uncomfortable with this subject too. Neither did he notice Robin didn't ask especially the two of them any questions.

He picked up answers from here and there and the several opinions about this matter, but he couldn't care less. After the hour passed and Koala wanted to get out of the class as soon as possible, Sabo managed to run after her. '' Wait! '' He felt like he used that word too often around her. '' Why so fast? '' He breathed when he caught up with her. She wasn't even out of breath herself. Said a lot about his physical condition right?

'' Want to eat lunch together? I-I'll pay! I really want to make it up to you for what I did. '' He tried to smile, which ended up in a pout when she gave him a stern look.

She stopped walking and stood now in front of him. '' I'm not interested. '' She said with a very cute looking smile while it was quite obvious she didn't mean it.

He was glad his brothers weren't around because this was his first rejection from a girl in his entire life. Well, he did get a rejection when he was a toddler, but that didn't count.

'' I-I… Alright… Awkward… '' He continued with what was supposed to be a smile. People around them looked up and some girls raised their eyebrows at Koala. '' Then let me at least apologize properly.. I'm.. '' He wanted to say sorry, but she interrupted him by holding up her hand.

'' No apology needed. You're forgiven. '' She nodded at him and moved on to the garden of the school.

There he stood, with his mouth half open still forming the letter 's' of the word 'sorry' and as if karma itself was playing a role in this Ace's adoptive brother Marco stood behind him.

'' Ouch. '' He said amused. '' Our fancy boy has been rejected. '' He moved closer to him and continued. '' The girl on your right is planning to talk to you. ''

'' Geez, I'm not interested. '' Sabo grunted in return. '' This never happened, okay? ''

Marco held up his hands in the air with his paperwork under his armpit and smiled again. '' I didn't see anything. ''

Sabo took a deep breath and walked on to the cafeteria where he would probably meet up with his sworn brothers.

He was almost there when the girl Marco mentioned stopped him. '' Hey! Do you remember me? '' Sabo looked at her, but couldn't directly come up with the name.

'' U-Uhm.. '' She had brown long hair until her waist and grey eyes. She was wearing high heels and these fabric pants that were folded at the end with a red blouse that revealed her décolleté. '' Ranya? ''

She smiled brightly with her red lipstick. '' Yup! I haven't spoken to you in such a long time! We were in math class last year. ''

Not that he wanted to be remembered by the horror called Math class, but he did remember this girl. Even though she always had her weird remarks on everyone, she was really smart and wasn't afraid to show it. '' Y-Yeah! How are you doing? I was actually going to meet up with my brothers if you don't mind..? '' He said hesitantly, hoping he wouldn't hurt her feelings.

'' Oh! That's okay! I'll walk with you. '' She tilted her head to one side and put her hands behind her, folded. '' I'm fine. I guess you're not? ''

Great. '' Sure. What makes you think that? '' He asked with a smile on his face.

'' Well, just now.. With that girl.. '' When Sabo looked at her questioningly, she added: '' You know, that ginger head? She turned you down? The news is spreading already. ''

He guessed the Grande Line College wasn't that big huh? '' Ah well. It's not like I care that much about it. '' He didn't care for many things today..

The girl Ranya started laughing out loud and Sabo's eyes grew big for a moment. '' You can have anyone you want after all. ''

Somehow, he didn't really like this girl. Ginger head, having anyone he wanted.. She had her strange remarks, but she was close to crossing his line. What did she want? '' Yeah, No. I'm only human too. '' He muttered not amused.

As if on cue, a strong arm wrapped itself around Sabo's shoulder. When he looked up he recognized the freckled man Ace. '' You're late bro. Lu already finished half of our lunch. Come on. '' And before Ranya could say anything else, Ace pulled him towards a table where all their friends gathered around.

* * *

 **If you don't know what to write in a review, then please answer one of these questions:**

 **\- What did you like the most about this chapter?**

 **\- What did you think of the way Sabo acted towards Koala?**

 **\- What do you think of uncle Edward?**

 **\- Do you have any tips for me as a writer?**

 **\- Do you have any predictions? Things you would like to see in the story?**

 **\- Any typo's perhaps? :o**


	4. Chapter 4

**And we're already at chapter 4! I'll reply to the reviews at the end of the chapter! (For those interested, because I find them highly interesting myself)**

 **A small warning: Many small factors/details play a big part that will allow Koala to open up slowly, but surely. Some of it will be left to your imagination. I choose to do it this way to make the characters a bit more interesting. I'm saying this because things are soon going to happen really fast. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Koala:**

The weather today was very pleasant.

Oh, who was she kidding? She tried to think of other stuff while people kept on passing by and stared at her. Was it really that unique to reject a good looking guy? She forgave him, but she wasn't going on a date with him. Did it even count as a date? She didn't owe him anything. There was no need to look at her so strangely as if she was at fault. She thought these typical high school jealousy time was over now she was in college. But she was wrong. It had only started for her.

Koala sat on a stone bench on the field of grass, under a tree. She already finished her lunch and was now scrolling through her feed on her phone. To try to shut herself off from this world temporarily, she took her earplugs out of her backpack and turned on the music.

Skipping all the songs until she reached Soul King's new single, she listened to the lyrics she already managed to sing completely whenever she was home alone.

After the song ended and the girl skipped through the songs trying to find one she wasn't tired of yet a face showed up before her. Startled, Koala quickly took off her earplugs and recognized Robin. '' M-Miss Nico.. Uhm Helloo again.. ''

'' How are you? '' She asked after taking place on the bench. '' You can call me Robin by the way, I don't mind. You're in your last year after all. How old are you? 23? I'm only 30. You don't have to be so official anymore. '' She said with a giggle.

'' I-I'm fine, I guess.. It's kind of weird to call a teacher by her first name for me. I'm used to saying Miss and Sir. '' She scratched her head and blushed a little.

'' Do whatever makes you comfortable. I noticed you were very quiet during my class earlier. More than normal. ''

'' Well, you didn't really ask any questions and I normally only answer your questions. '' She didn't know why she said it. It was just something Koala noticed during that class. Miss Nico would normally ask her something, but this time nothing at all.

'' That's true. '' She answered with a smile. '' I just thought you might have perhaps not really liked this subject. Am I right? ''

Immediately, as if it was a natural reaction, Koala was on guard. Why did she ask that? '' I.. '' She thought about her answer for a moment. '' It's a subject you get to hear about a lot of times. ''

'' Hm. Yes, but this time was different than usual. ''

Was it? She didn't even listen to what was being said during that hour. As soon as she heard what the class was about, Koala shut herself off in her own world and stopped paying attention.

'' O-Oh.. '' She didn't really know what to answer. She did feel a little guilty now. She couldn't meet her eyes but Robin rested a hand on her shoulder.

'' Don't worry about it. Everyone has their own reasons and priorities right? '' She squeezed a little and continued. '' Time's up. Time for class. '' The woman stood up and graciously walked away waving back at students who said hi.

After the final two classes ended Koala made her way back to the history class. That's where they would hold the meetings for the Writers' Club. Koala was a bit nervous and clutched to her backpack as she entered the classroom.

The blond, Sabo, was already there sitting on one of the tables with his legs crossed reading through a notebook.

Robin was there too and a few other members she didn't know yet. One guy who was sitting on the chair next to the table Sabo was sitting on was on his phone while talking to the blond. He had an abnormal long nose, dark brown curls and a dark skin. He had clothes on that resembled the style Hiphop and headphones around his neck.

'' Welcome, Koala. '' Robin started with a smile. '' Please have a seat. Tea or coffee? ''

'' Thanks. Tea would be nice. '' She smiled back and took a seat as far away as possible from the blond. She noticed him staring at her, but he didn't say anything as of yet. She didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing since the staring was just as disturbing.

As soon as all the members were there, the meeting started. Robin opened the conversation and told them what they were planning to do this school year.

'' … Now you might think: What can you possibly do in a club where writers meet, but here's the thing. There are also bars that exist for writers and they are a huge success. Sabo and I thought it would be a good idea to visit one soon. '' She said calmly.

Koala really had no idea indeed what this club was all about. She simply joined for the sake of becoming a writer, nothing else.. She thought this would be a good experience to get to know people and gain some writing skills in the process.

'' We also thought it would be a great experience to visit places that could inspire us as authors. These places could be anything. Relaxing and beautiful environments are a real recommendation. How does that sound? ''

'' Do we have to pay ourselves? '' A guy in the back asked.

'' You already paid the fee to join this club. We'll go on excursions with that money. That's our budget. '' She looked around the class before continuing. '' Other than that, we'll give positive feedback to each others' work and review books because that's also part of the process in writing. And of course: If you have ideas for possible things we could do during these meetings then don't hesitate to confront us with them. Right, Sabo? ''

He nodded and smiled. '' There's also going to be food. ''

The long nosed guy sighed and others laughed.

Sabo used that moment to look at Koala and smiled apologetically as if he wasn't sure how to react to her.

She gulped and looked away.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

The meeting went well even though he didn't get to directly talk to Koala. Everyone introduced themselves and they discussed their favorite genres and books. Some also showed their work already, which Sabo assumed was a big step because when you show what you wrote, you give away a piece of your heart. That's how he always thought about it.

They discussed some ideas and made a general plan for the year. Koala didn't say much and only agreed here and there. Sabo sincerely hoped it wasn't because of him. He wanted her to open up a little. That's why he tried to make it up to her. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable because of him.

In the end the group decided to go to the local and most famous bar in the city on Friday night. They also had a date for a weekend two weeks later to go to the beach. They would sleep there in a rented house and do assignments about inspiration and ideas for novels. Sabo was excited about it and so were the others, but Koala seemed to want to object to the idea. Though, she didn't and that worried him a little. It was still her choice right? He shouldn't think too much about it. Because maybe he was just over thinking stuff and the situation wasn't like that at all. Not being able to help himself, which was a bad trait he had and it made him way too curious about everything he asked Robin and Usopp what they thought of Koala.

'' I don't know man.. I only see her passing by from time to time, nothing more. You should ask Nami. They are good friends. '' The long nosed man answered.

'' She has friends? '' Sabo asked as if that was a surprise. He always saw her wandering alone. He didn't think she had contact with someone he'd known for three years now. And of all people Nami, the Ice Queen or maybe Lightning Queen since you really shouldn't mess with either ice or lightning..

Robin chuckled. '' Nami is her only female friend here at college though. Because they're both busy and Nami has quite a lot friends herself, they always go shopping together once a month, nothing more really. Except for apping and on other social media. Koala's other friends are Boss Jinbei's comrades. ''

'' What about her family? I mean, blood related family. ''

'' Hm.. She doesn't have contact with them. '' She said with an apologetic smile.

'' Do you know her? '' Sabo couldn't help but wonder about all this. The girl suddenly got a lot more interesting than he thought in the first place.. Which also made him feel even more guilty.

'' Not really, only during classes. She has a hard time opening up to people. '' She rested her hand under her chin and stared out of the window for a while.

Not wanting to interrupt her thoughts and yet curiosity taking over, he asked more questions. '' Then how do you know all this? I only know her from the party last year. Did Nami tell you? Did she go through something that made her act like this? I mean, the not being able to open up act? '' He knew he was rambling on and probably asking too many questions, but Robin didn't seem to mind and Usopp was listening intently himself.

'' Nami didn't tell me anything. '' She looked up and smiled. '' All I can tell you is that she did go through some things that you probably should ask her yourself, since you like her so much. '' She giggled a little and continued before Sabo could interrupt. '' You should realize by now that most people we know have had a hard life to deal with and are still dealing with it. Do you ask them the same questions? ''

She got him. It somehow became an unspoken rule not to pry on information about others' lives unless they tell you themselves. According Robin, this included Koala. '' Alright. I won't ask again. Thank you. '' He smiled back at the raven-haired woman and stood up. '' I've got to meet up with Luffy. He had to sit through detention. ''

'' Huh? I thought college didn't have such thing called detention any longer? '' Usopp looked up and followed the blond. '' Just what did that idiot do to receive it? ''

'' Who knows? I'm about to find out. Uncle thought it would be a good idea to give him detention where he wasn't allowed to eat. To Lu, that would be the ultimate punishment. '' He snickered. '' Let's go pick him up, shall we? ''

The long nosed man sighed. '' Alright. Man, he always causes trouble for himself. ''

'' It was worse in High School. ''

'' Tell me about it. ''

Sabo forgot for a moment Usopp was one of Luffy's friends who had to deal with his many problems all the time throughout the years. '' Yeah, thanks for that mate. ''

Usopp nodded and they waved at Robin. She waved back and stood up to take a book from her bookshelf.

Usopp and Sabo made their way to Marco's classroom. Uncle Newgate and the pineapple-head agreed to let Luffy work in his classroom because he had to deal with Ace for many years, so he thought he could handle the little troublemaker too. When they walked in, they were surprised. Luffy was whining and wandering around the classroom but Marco actually managed to ignore the boy and confiscated his backpack to make sure the black-haired boy wouldn't take out the food.

'' If you don't finish that essay in five minutes you'll receive an extra hour of detention. Am I clear Luffy? '' The pineapple patiently said without looking up.

'' B-But Marco! You're so mean! Of course you're not clear! You're starving me and I don't even know what to write! It's boring! I didn't chose to live this horrendous life where I have to attend college while I could be a pirate like Captain Jack Sparrow! ''

Usopp slammed his own face with his hand and gasped. '' You can't talk like that on school ground to Marco! He's our teacher here! '' He bumped Luffy on his head.

'' If you manage to finish it in five minutes I'll take you to the Baratie with Ace so we can get some real eastern noodles. How does that sound? ''

For some reason he managed to drool in one second only. '' Can we go now?! I've decided! We're going now. '' He wanted to walk out the class but Usopp and Sabo stopped him by holding his shoulders with their hands.

'' Don't pretend you didn't hear what I said Lu. Only if you manage to finish the essay in five minutes like Marco said. '' He looked down at his little brother who tried to have a battle by staring stubbornly at him.

'' Fine, an extra hour it is. '' Marco said pleased, still not looking up.

'' And only noodles for me and Ace. '' Sabo said acting surprised.

'' No, no, no, no, no! I'll finish it, I swear! I promise I'll finish it now! '' He ran back to his table right before the Pineapple's desk and wrote words down as if his life depended on it.

After seven minutes straight he bowed down grunting his hand hurt. '' I-I'm finished! '' He managed to bring out.

'' It really isn't that hard to write down a few words Luffy.. '' Usopp tried.

'' You..You! You really don't realize how much effort this took?! My hand has cramps! '' He shouted not being able to believe one of his best friends just said that. He turned his paper with a tear in his eyes and pouted at Marco. '' Can I go now? ''

The pineapple looked up and smiled a little. '' That puppy eyed face isn't going to work. But alas, you're dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow in class where I'll use this as an example. '' he held up the paper and smiled even brighter when Luffy's face went pale.

'' Please don't.. I have suffered enough for today. '' He simply stated with a small voice.

'' Just kidding. Good evening to you all. '' He went back to his work and the three left.

* * *

 **Koala:**

 **[ What am I going to do Nami?!  
The Club is going to spend a  
weekend at the beach..  
Need heellppp ;-;  
-Sent 07-09-15 Seen at 19:34-] **

**[ Shopping it is then? Friday afternoon?  
And to the bar afterwards? You're going  
to the bar anyway that night right?  
Let's do a combo! :D Don't worry,  
I'll help you find the right clothes so  
no one has to see it.  
-Sent 07-09-15 Seen at 19:36-] **

**[ Yes, that would be great.  
Thank you 3  
-Sent 07-09-15 Seen at 19:37-]**

She knew she could always count on Nami. Ever since High School she'd been the only friend aside from her family she felt like she could really trust. Nami had to deal with her own hardships and somehow managed to gain Koala's faith at some point because she understood Koala.  
They went shopping once a month to catch up on everything and keep in contact. Since they were both kind of busy and college years were always messed up they didn't have much time to spend their afternoons together. Shopping and dinner with a friend sounded like something Koala could really use right now, but going to the bar.. She was nervous already. She didn't mind the fact that there were so many people, she could just blend in and stay with Nami, that wasn't the problem.  
The problem was that the bar was Partys Bar. Nami's friends, Marco's family and friends and others she vaguely knew were going to be there. A close friend of Sabo's little brother Luffy ran the bar with her husband. It was like the gathering place for all of them. Koala tried to avoid going there, but now she had no choice. Maybe she could ask uncle Jinbei to go too with Aladdin and Hachi.. Sighing she was once again over thinking too much she took a book from the pile and placed it in one of the many shelves in the bookstore. After a whole day of school, an hour long first meeting at the Club and quickly having supper with uncle Jinbei she had to hurry to the bookstore and work until ten o'clock.

'' What's with the sigh dear? '' Her boss, the owner of the bookstore called Izo, approached her while breathing out the smoke from his cigarette that was attached to a cigarette holder. Izo was a cross-dresser. He was a man from the eastern countries who liked wearing traditional female clothes and make-up. It did scare some customers away but he was really a cool guy. As Koala got to know the man she came to learn running a book store didn't fit him at all. She never really got to know the reason because she didn't really ask but she always had a good time being here. He had a way with making people feel at home. He also recommended her many good books and gave her quite a few for free. Izo was also one of Newgate's adoptive sons. Not to mention that she knew him, just like Marco, from her childhood. It made things both awkward and easier for her when she applied here.

'' Hm.. Just tired I guess. '' She smiled placing another book on the shelf.

'' Make sure you have a good sleep then. You can leave earlier. There won't be any customers tonight, I'm sure of that. '' He sat down on one of the small stools and stretched his legs.

'' Are you sure? '' She asked with a book in her hands.

'' Yes. Look outside, there's no one to be found. '' He took another pull from the cigarette and smiled.

Koala peeked through an empty spot through one of the shelves and saw that there was indeed no one there. '' Why? It's normally always busy around this time. ''

He shrugged while breathing out and making circles with the smoke. '' True, I think something has come up. ''

'' What do you mean? '' She asked again cautiously.

Izo looked perfectly innocent and held up his arms. '' Sorry dear, I have no idea. ''

She knew he was lying but maybe it was for the best not to ask. The Newgate family was a family not to mess with after all and she knew they were up to something. Izo always acted like this when he was planning something.

'' Have a good evening dear and you should take that book with you. The romance in there? Oh, it's too beautiful! '' He held a hand on his heart for a moment and stood up. Giving her a kiss on her cheek he continued her work while smoking at the same time.

'' I.. Fine.. I won't get these hours paid either, will I? '' Pouting she clutched the book to her chest.

'' I gave you an expensive book. That should be enough for now. I'll see you Saturday dear and tell your uncle Boss to visit sometime! '' Smiling once more and raising his painted eyebrows she made her way to the back to get her backpack and jacket.

'' Have fun with whatever you've got planned tonight Izo. Thank you for the book.'' She smiled back and left.

Days passed and Friday finally arrived. It was another warm day with only a few clouds and a pleasant breeze. She was helping Nami to get Koala's bike in her car after school was over. Her car was small however and they eventually ended up lowering the back seats to get the bike in completely.

'' Too bad. I wanted to place the bags on the back seats. '' Nami held a finger on her chin.

'' How much are you planning to buy? '' Koala asked startled. '' I'm on budget.. '' It had always been an awkward subject for her but she knew Nami didn't have much money either so it sort of became okay to talk about it at some point.

'' Oh a lot, that's for sure. Don't worry, don't worry. It will be cheap! Classy, but cheap clothes. '' Nami noticed her wary look and hurriedly continued. '' Hey, you know I'm the queen of cheap clothes. The queen still has to look good. I know where to go, trust me. ''

Koala couldn't help but smile at the other redhead. '' As long as you don't threaten the shop owners. ''

Nami pouted in return and closed the trunk of her car and made her way to the front. '' I can't promise you that. Now get in sweetie. It's time for shopping. ''

Hours later they sat at the Rock Café enjoying their hamburgers with fries. The rock music was playing in the background and the sun was going down outside. All their bags full with new clothes for the beach (Nami made sure Koala could cover her back) and all kinds of other supplies like deodorant, perfume, make up and a cute keychain were in the car on and beneath Koala's bicycle.

'' Almost time to go to the bar. Are you excited? I'm seriously proud of you Koala! This could be your chance to open up a little to some people! You made the step to join the Club and now it's time for another step forward. I want you to make at least one possible friend tonight. I'll help you okay? '' Even though the two of them were similar in many ways, they were also very different. Koala always had a hard time talking to people while Nami always showed what she was thinking, doing and feeling everywhere. She made friends fast and was kind of scary. Her other friends were always wary not to do anything wrong in her presence. And even if she was so scary, she was still a loving person. Once you were a friend, she would do anything to help you.  
Her style in clothing and make up also revealed that she wasn't shy at all. She had long orange hair until her waist and small earrings in her ears. She was always wearing mascara and her clothes were sometimes kind of revealing, but that was okay. She was comfortable with it and she always managed to look amazing and stylish.

'' I.. I don't know Nami.. '' She played with a fry and Nami pursed her lips.

'' You know what? If you have trouble answering a question or you don't know what to do, just let me handle it then. Don't worry, I'll help you sweetie, but please, at least try to get into contact with people tonight. That's what bars are for and the people that gather there are amazing. You've seen most of them last year, some will recognize you and try to talk to you. Don't turn down these chances. '' She took a last bite from her burger and started eating Koala's fries too. She wasn't going to finish them anyway.

'' Alright.. But don't force me to do things. ''

'' Do you even have to say that? I know how hard it is for you. I'll be proud if you would try only. Really. '' Smiling, she stood up. '' Ready? ''

Koala nodded in response and took one last sip from her cola.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Janos (Guest): First of all: I want to thank you for your detailed advise! I really appreciate it and it helped me notice some small details. I can't promise you much when it comes to the slow progress. I based this story on the western student life. I tried giving Koala a slow progress when it comes to opening up. A lot small factors will play a role once some things in the future will happen. I hope I can surprise you in a good way however ^^ And yes, my english is yet no where near perfect, neither am I certain whether I write in British english or American english. So grammatical mistakes are still highly possible. Again: Thank you!**

 **Mary D. Sue: I'm honored to be your first then! I hope I can satisfy you and make you ship them even more canonly! And yes! Prepare for the drama. It is coming hehe.**

 **DrakShdowDreams: Thank you for all your reviews! Please keep them coming as I enjoy reading them. I'm glad you like the story and thank you for the examples you give about parts of the story you like!**

 **traffscorace: To you too: Thank you for your support and for Beta-reading this story!**

 **Ezaria: Thanks sweetie for giving examples as to what you exactly like about the story. I'm glad you like it! 3**

* * *

 **If you don't know what to write in a review:**

 **\- Can you give some examples in this chapter you liked?**

 **\- Are there parts you didn't like? Why? And how would you like to see it improved?**

 **\- As you can see, Koala is struggling with her insecurities and finds it hard to open up. Do you think that will change? And how?**

 **\- Do you have advice for me an an author? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is up! Reviews will be answered at the end of the chapter. I think the story is going to have 11 chapters. I just finished ch9 and maybe I will do an epilogue or some extra chapters. There will also be a second story! (City of Lost Dreams 2) That one will be about Ace and Marco :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Sabo:**

Stretching his arms and legs, Sabo made his way to the tables in the back. They had couches placed against the wall for larger groups to chill. The bar had a green and old fashioned theme. It was one of the places where he liked to write his stories. The woman who ran the bar was called Makino and she was probably one of the best bartenders he'd ever seen and the sweetest. She always helped Ace and Luffy out when they were little. She taught them manners and prepared dinner for them occasionally. She also used to buy a lot of clothes for them since they didn't really care about their clothes and made them dirty and ruined them pretty quickly. Robin was also there along with Usopp. He was pretty excited for this evening. There were always certain evenings/nights reserved for the family and all their friends. This was one of them with the exception of the club members. The other evenings were the ones where a lot people from all over the city came to spend their time here.

'' Do you think Koala will talk normally to me one day? '' He pouted at Robin knowing he was probably talking too much about this girl, but everyone seemed to know her all of the sudden. It was one of the few times Sabo felt like he didn't entirely belong in this family. He's been around for only three years after all. They all knew each other since childhood while Sabo came much later.

'' Who knows? '' She answered mysteriously. She sipped from her coffee.

'' No alcohol for you? '' Sabo then asked not wanting to pry on the subject.

'' Nope. I prefer it like this. Someone has to stay sober just in case. I love taking that role. ''

'' Because you get to enjoy the way people act while they're drunk. Right… '' Usopp said with a glare as if he was judging her.

Makino approached them with a plate with two beers. '' Here you go. Enjoy your evening. If there is anything you need, don't be shy to ask. '' She gave them a warm smile and Robin thanked her while Sabo and Usopp nodded.

Sabo rested his head on his crossed arms as he waited for the rest to come. At some point his phone started vibrating, meaning he had a message.

 **[ Mom and dad found you.  
It was in fact very easy to find your sorry ass.  
Better get ready for the scandal.  
Stelly. Seen at 11-09-15 21:46]**

He threw the phone on the table annoyed and tried to delete the memory out of his mind, which he knew was impossible, but he didn't worry too much about his blood related parents' threats. Especially not that sorry kid Stelly. His father adopted him after Sabo ran away from home for the third time. They assumed he was a failure of a son, so they took in another one. Ironic, wasn't it?

'' What's wrong, Sabo? '' Luffy asked worried with a plate full of fries in his hands. '' Are you hungry? I can share my food with you if you want. '' He took place next to his brother and Usopp couldn't help but smile. It was Luffy's way of showing his concern with people. He didn't think of the possible things that happened which made people worry. Instead, he thought in food. He always thought people were hungry if they were worried, so those were the few times he'd share his food with you to show you his affection.

His worried puppy eyes made Sabo hide his face in his arms for a moment and looked up at his little brother with a big smile on his face. '' I'm alright lil' bro. You can have your fries, I'll eat with the Club members. '' He ruffled through the boy's hair and a bit of relief washed over his face.

'' So.. You really don't want the food? '' Luffy asked uncertain, secretly hoping Sabo would say no. It was always a hard decision to make for the boy whether to share his food or not.

'' Nope. You can have it. Enjoy. '' He reached his hand out to the plate. '' Or maybe.. I want a fry after all.. '' He said slowly with a chuckle.

'' N-No! You already said you didn't want any! Meanie! '' Luffy looked offended and held the plate as far away as possible from his older brother.

'' Just kidding, Lu. Any plans for the weekend? ''

He took five fries and dipped them in the mayonnaise. '' Adventuring with Shanks. ''

Adventuring meant: fishing, swimming, playing games, watching movies and wandering around the city with his godfather. Shanks was Makino's husband who spent some weekends with Luffy. The three sworn brothers lived in the same building as the bar. The second floor was where they had their rooms, their own kitchen, living room and a bathroom. Shanks and Makino lived on the first floor and the bar was located on ground level with a basement underneath it. They had a big house and it wasn't for nothing. They spent each day in this bar working hard together.

'' I hope you'll enjoy it then. '' He leaned back and the boy beamed with excitement while eating his fries.

That moment the doors of the bar opened and Nami and Koala came in. Nami greeted Makino and walked directly to Sabo and the others. The other one seemed to hesitate a little and waved uncertain at the bartender. Makino smiled gently and continued preparing the cocktail bar with one of the waiter boys called Sanji. He always made the best cocktails.

'' Yo. How's it going? '' Nami asked while stealing a fry from Luffy's plate.

'' HOW DARE YOU- '' He stopped screaming as soon as Nami gave him a death glare and Sabo couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Nami looked around and reached out to Koala's hand. Pulling her to the table and pointing at the empty space next to her, the girl sat down obediently, still not sure what to say or do.

'' Good evening Koala. Had a nice afternoon? All the classes ended early today right? ''

Koala looked up startled at the history teacher and nodded. '' Y-Yes. It was really nice, thank you miss Nico. ''

'' Just call her Robin, Koala. '' Nami said with a playful grin.

The girl's cheeks now had a peachy color and Sabo started to feel sorry for Koala too.

'' You're embarrassing her Nami. '' Usopp quickly replied. He held out his hand. '' Captain Usopp's the name! We already know each other from the Club, but I thought it would be good to introduce my awesome self properly. ''

Koala took the hand and shook it, smiling at the long-nosed man.

Luffy gasped. '' Oi! I'm going to be the Captain! You're my liar Usopp! ''

Robin giggled and Sabo couldn't help but laugh either.

'' L-Liar?! Please don't listen to him Koala! I'm a very brave man and really good with my slingshot. I can shoot someone from a mile away if I want! ''

'' See? '' Nami sighed. '' A liar. '' Shaking her head as if she was sorry for Usopp she turned her attention to the other redhead again. '' We're basically messed up, crazy, fools and have the strangest hobbies imaginable. Welcome to the familia Koala. '' She pinched her cheek gently and giggled.

'' That's right! You should come more often! Friday nights are always the ones especially for the family only! You were at uncle Beard's party last year. So why aren't you visiting the bar? Sabo even likes you too! ''

Sabo's head shot up in surprise and anger. How did he even know about that?! And wait a freaking moment! He never said anything about actually liking her!

If Koala's face could have been any more red, then her face would definitely explode. Nami and Usopp both gasped at their comrade. '' Luffy! '' They both shouted.

Robin was patiently observing the situation while sipping her coffee. '' Why the surprised faces? Wasn't that obvious already? ''

Usopp's gasp was for Robin this time. '' Don't say that! Now she won't ever get used to us crazy folk! ''

Luffy laughed out loud and was shut up by his older brother bumping his head.

Sabo placed his hands on the table and took a deep breath. '' I apologize for my brother's behavior if he made you feel uncomfortable. Please feel free to judge us now.. '' He muttered the last part, already seeing his chances flying away.

Nami made a 'I can't believe this' face. '' Oh please! Just throw her in the deep and she'll crawl outside on her own. Right Koala? This is basically how we are, so you better get used to it soon. Don't feel offended or embarrassed by anything we say. Luffy meant it in a good way. Not to mention that you seem to like Sabo too. Oh oops. '' She grinned again and Usopp slammed his face on the table. Robin giggled once more and Luffy got excited again.

'' See? See?! She likes you too Sabo! ''

Why did this conversation turn into this? How did it happen? Why? It wasn't supposed to go like this at all. He thought Koala would be extremely quiet like always, as she was now, then he would try to talk to her, make it up to her, make her feel comfortable, show her around the neighborhood, let Sanji make one of the best cocktails for her and in the end, maybe if everything went well and they felt a click between them, he would kiss her and even take her upstairs if she wanted to.

This, however, wasn't supposed to happen. The first five minutes the young female was here, Luffy managed to say something not even Sabo had thought of , or maybe he did, Nami did the same thing with Koala, Usopp tried to make things up with her and Robin? The responsible teacher? She was probably the biggest shipper. She was enjoying this way too much for his taste.

What Nami said however.. That Koala liked him too.. Was that true? If so.. No, no, no, no! He wasn't going to let his imagination run wild. They were here gathered because of the Club. He would get to know all the Club members because he was a leader too. That was his priority right now.

The bar started to fill with people and other members started to gather around the table. He told Luffy to go to their other friends so the members could take their places. Koala, because of that, was forced to sit next to Sabo and was probably in a state of shock.

How many times did he apologize already? He probably had to add at least ten more to the list soon enough.

Usopp held up his hand as a sign for Sanji to come take orders. '' What will it be? ''

He had curly eyebrows and blond hair. He was always wearing a suit and smoked cigarettes whenever he could. Sabo gently rested his hand on Koala's arm for a moment and ordered one of his special cocktails for her. '' To calm the nerves. '' He whispered to her. '' Can we talk later? I feel like I'm failing you already, again. ''

Startled, she looked up at him for a moment but didn't say anything. Nami glanced over a few times but managed to stay away for now. Sanji already noticed the uneasiness around Koala and promised to make the best one possible for her. The others ordered several things too like beer, Jillz, wine or other mixed drinks.

Robin winked at the girl and put down her cup. '' Good evening to you all. I hoped you all enjoyed your free afternoons because we're going to enjoy this evening together a lot more. '' She had a graceful smile on her face and her hands were folded, resting on the table. '' This evening is meant to get to know each other and I'm glad all the members came. As you can see, the bar is already filling up so I can promise you; feel free to do and say whatever you want. This isn't anything official, only to start the evening. ''

'' If anything bothers you, please say so. '' Sabo continued. '' I hope we will get along with each other. '' He nodded with a smile and raised his bottle of beer. '' To the Writers' Club! '' Everyone raised their cups in return and repeated the man's words.

It started off well and Robin managed to make even Koala talk again. The other members existed of several females, a male twin and another young man. They all had different studies and soon enough, everyone was joking around with each other and Koala let out a giggle here and there. Was it because of the alcohol? Or was she okay now?

'' How does it taste? '' He asked nervously.

She stared at him for a moment with her peachy colored cheeks and smiled a little. Somehow it made his stomach make a turn because it was actually the first time she really smiled at him. '' It's really good, thank you. ''

* * *

 **Koala:**

Helping her out whenever she didn't know what to do? Great promise Nami made there, but did that include revealing she probably liked Sabo too? When did that thought occur to her? Koala never said anything nor thought anything related to 'liking' him. She did have some experience with guys before, but she didn't really know what her type was yet nevertheless. The moment Sabo tried to read her info and sir Newgate mentioned all the girls Sabo probably had already.. It made something snap inside her as if she was allergic to this guy. Her entire body and mind rejected him. But he started to apologize and tried to talk to her so many times as if it was really bothering him.. She started to reject him less, not that she made him notice it, but still.. It was something right?

In the bar, everyone seemed to really like him and he was really nice too. The way his little brother sat so proudly next to him.. It was kind of touching..

She didn't quite trust him yet, nor did she think she actually liked him, but she was less defensive against him and somehow, that felt good. She didn't want to be on her guard all the time. After all, sir Newgate, Marco and Nami were at the bar too right? In case something went wrong she could go to them. They would definitely help her. Thinking about that, her shoulders started to relax a little. She tried to sit in a more comfortable position when the waiter boy/bartender or whatever he was brought her cocktail Sabo ordered for her. He had rested his hand on her arm and for some particular reason, it didn't make her flinch, startled or angry. She was just a little surprised and he noticed how uneasy she felt.

Taking a sip from the cocktail, the very thick and sweet substance glided down her throat. It tickled as it made its way down and soon enough, the tension in her body started to go away, which was a real pleasure to her.

He also wanted to talk to her, probably about their first meeting and her avoiding him all the time.. She wasn't sure how that was going to be or if she even wanted it, but she tried to concentrate on Robin's words instead of thinking too much about every decision she made.

She had to admit: She was starting to see why Nami wanted her to get into contact with people. The members were funny and she was slowly feeling more and more comfortable. Sabo looked at her a few times, especially the times she laughed or answered a question. She didn't say much herself, but it was a start for her and it felt good. No one judged her. In fact, they were rather open and left her in her comfort zone.

Slowly but surely, she started to challenge herself by going out of her comfort zone. She ordered another cocktail, this time a different 'special' one and it tasted equally good. '' I've never anything as good as this. '' She forced herself to say to Sabo.

He showed his teeth when he smiled and chuckled. '' Yeah, Sanji is a professional cook and a master in making these. You should try his eastern noodles some day! ''

Koala blushed. His eyes beamed when he mentioned the noodles. '' Maybe I should. '' She answered without thinking.

Music was playing in the background and the bar was completely full. Soon enough the members started to scatter and two went outside to smoke a cigarette. Robin said she was going to Nami and Usopp followed.

Sabo and Koala were alone now, but not for long. Ace joined the table with Marco and he had a plate with nachos and cheese. He placed it in the middle and turned to Koala.

'' A new face, or not so new. Koala is it? I recognize you from the party. '' _Who didn't?_ She thought a little embarrassed.

He held out his hand and she shook it.

'' Boss Jinbei prefers his card games I see? '' Marco asked before putting a nacho in his mouth.

'' Yeah, he says he doesn't really like bars. '' She answered entangling her fingers and putting them on her lap.

Ace put five nachos in his mouth at once and talked at the same time, which was a horrendous sight. '' And what is your reason for not showing up until now? ''

Sabo moved his arm behind Koala and bumped Ace on his upper arm. '' She's here now. The rest doesn't matter. ''

Ace held up his hands in a defeated manner and snickered. The blond offered Koala a nacho and she took one. Taking small bites she was very aware of Sabo's arm resting on the backside. Was it intentional? She took another draught from the cocktail while the three men chitchatted about the people in the bar.

'' See him Koala? The one who is laughing way too loudly and being hug-attacked by Lu? He's his godfather. He'll tell you tons of stories as soon as you ask him something. He's a real party beast. '' She wasn't sure why he told her all that, but she was enjoying it. She got to know the family and friends in a way by hearing who they were and such. It also gave her the space to get comfortable and a reason to talk about something. In case she didn't know what to answer, Marco made sure everything went well since he knew about her insecurities.

Marco asked Ace when they were going outside and Ace answered they could go right away, leaving the two alone once again, with the nachos.

Sabo moved slightly so he faced Koala now and asked if she needed anything.

'' N-not really. I'm fine for now, thanks. I'm sorry.. I'm being really quiet and it makes everything kind of awkward. '' She said hesitantly while playing with her bracelet.

Sabo smiled again, somehow it was a bit attractive, and rested his hand on hers'. '' It's alright. Don't apologize for something that's probably part of your personality. Unless, of course, you're not a quiet girl at all? ''

'' Does it sound strange if I say that I don't exactly know if I'm being me or if it's.. How should I call it, a front? ''

'' Oh there is no doubt that there is a lot more to you than you're showing us now. But I guess it takes time and really, take all the time you need. I want to get to know you Koala. And if I made you feel uncomfortable, hate me or if you feel 'attacked' by me then please say so. I know saying sorry won't work.. '' He eyed worried or insecure.. she didn't know what it was but she felt like he was telling her the truth.

And even if the alcohol was playing a big part in this, Koala thought it was okay now. What was wrong with getting to know him? She could enjoy herself for once right?

'' I was just really startled by what you did and what sir Newgate said.. And really, I told you I already forgave you. I meant that Sabo.. I wasn't really interested back in.. yeah… Do you get what I mean? ''

He nodded seriously and drank from his beer before he answered. '' And what about now? Would you like to get to know me? Because I really do want to get to know you. ''

She liked the way he phrased that. He didn't mention dates or anything else. Just getting to know each other. And that was fine with her. She didn't know what she could talk about with him so she hoped he'd be the one to lead the conversations and such, but she noticed she was getting curious about the man too.

'' I would love too. '' She replied with a smile.

He held up his bottle and Koala held up her glass. '' Let's enjoy our evening then. '' They toasted and looked each other in the eyes.

The scar that covered his left side of the face.. It was one thing she was curious about, but she knew she wouldn't ask about it so soon. His left eye was paler than the other, while the other had a deep sea blue color. _They are beautiful.._ She thought realizing she maybe did like this man.

* * *

 _ **Answers:**_

 **Janus (Guest) : Thank you for the offer and feel free to point them out whenever you feel like it. I only learn from them after all! About her insecurities: Some of it is dislayed in this chapter and a great deal will be shown in the last part of the story. I did it this way because I wanted to keep it a mystery as of yet (Not sure yet whether that was a good choice, so I guess I'll have to wait until I posted them here). Because I want to finish this story in 10/11 chapters I have to keep everything balanced and not too detailed to give the characters depth and so I have space to write the scenes that will have the most impact on the story. I'm really taking a risk at everything, since writing is mainly taking risks after all because writing out a good plot is hard and this is my second really story so i guess I'm still a noob at this haha. I appreciate your advice as always! **

**DarkShdowDreams : Thank you and you are very much welcome dear! If i had planned on more chapters then I would have definitely written out more fluff and slice of life scenes such as Nami and Koala shopping, but I had to keep some things limited because of the plot. I will try to write some extra chapters after this because I probably won't be able to let go of the story after this haha **


	6. Chapter 6

_**Warning: NSFW (THE scene) is going to happen in this chapter! ^^ You've been warned and enjoy hehe**_

 _ **(Reviews will be answered at the end)**_

* * *

 **Sabo:**

He wanted to beam with excitement just as much as Luffy. Koala was finally accepting him! The blond could finally get to know her and act normal without feeling guilty every five seconds. He had to be careful a little, but it was still a huge progress for him.

Knowing he usually didn't have to 'fight' to get girls and he mostly got what he wanted, he was fairly proud of himself not giving up this time. It was still a bit awkward to get the conversation going, but he was determined he would continue.

'' So, what is it you like to do? Like hobbies, goals.. '' He asked while his arm was still resting on the backside which made him wonder if she was okay with it.

'' I like reading books. I mean, reading a lot. Listening to music.. karate and yeah.. that's mostly it I guess. As for goals, I want to become an author. '' Taking a breath, she continued. '' And I want to be free. Probably sounds strange- ''

Before she could continue Sabo squeezed in her hand. '' Don't. It's not strange. It's a good goal. We take life for granted and follow those in power. But what does being free mean eh? I think it's good to search for the meaning and actually try to live truly free. '' Philosophical much? Not that he cared. He didn't want her to say things like apologizing for who she was and what she stood for. That was just sad.

He liked that goal since it was one of things he was searching himself. What was it like to be free? It was a question he busied himself with ever since he was a kid.

'' I guess.. '' She answered a little surprised and amused. '' What are yours? ''

'' I like writing and reading, making music, hanging with friends and sparring. And hm.. Life goals.. I guess being free is something I want to be too and I think I would like to do what I want and not let others chose for me. I guess it's kind of the same thing as being free.. ''

'' Yeah? Is that your definition of freedom? '' She asked with a serious yet curious tone. She had this gleam in her eyes and Sabo had the urge to stare at them and drown in them.

Realizing what he just thought, he coughed and replied. '' Well, it's one of the conclusions I guess. I think we all have different opinions on the matter and apply the word to our own lives. Don't you think? ''

She looked skeptically at him and smiled a little. '' I think that describes it indeed. We all go through different things and not a single situation is the exact same as another, so we're bound to draw different conclusions on it. ''

When did he start liking serious philosophical discussions about something like freedom? He was probably interested because it was a thing that came back over and over again in his life.

He nodded as he was thinking. '' And you mentioned karate. I guess Boss Jinbei taught you? ''

'' Yes, ever since I was little. I help out sometimes at the dojo near the shore. A friend runs it, so yeah.. ''

'' I think Zoro works there.. '' As he noticed her questionable look, he explained. '' Someone with green hair? Muscle-head? Always gets lost? ''

Koala let out a giggle. '' Oh yeah, I know him. I've seen him a few times teaching children kendo. He's really good. ''

'' That he is. Do you want another drink? This one's almost finished. ''

'' That would be nice. Though, maybe something other than a cocktail would be nice. They're great, really, but I want to try other stuff too if you're okay with that. '' She blushed which surprised Sabo. Why was she embarrassed about that?

'' Don't you usually drink? '' He asked curiously.

'' I do, but mostly sake. Uncle is from the eastern countries and really treasures the culture. ''

'' I see. '' He chuckled. '' Alright, how about we try shots? How much alcohol can you take though? ''

She pouted which looked really cute on her small face. '' Enough to take shots. ''

'' Alright, sorry.. '' He said hesitantly.

Then, she bumped him on his shoulder which also surprised him. '' You apologized again. ''

He barely held in his laugh because things were really going well now. '' I can't apologize for apologizing now, can I? How about you bump me each time I do so? Good deal? ''

She gulped and her peachy colored cheeks were now a dark pink color. '' Sounds like a deal to me. '' She muttered.

* * *

 **Koala:**

As they tried their shots, which were supposed to be drunk in one shot literally, Koala was thinking as to why one shot was so few. She thought she could try some more..

'' What's with these shots? This one burned in my throat..kind of.. and it's amazing but the cup is so small.. ''

'' Don't drink too many of them. The hangover in the morning after you wake up? You don't want to go through that, believe me. I know all about it. '' He said with a painful grin. '' How about an apple cider? Jillz is a popular brand in the north. You'll love it and it doesn't contain much alcohol. ''

'' That sounds like a good plan. I probably need to slow down indeed.. '' Finishing what she knew he was thinking. Maybe she was going a bit far with wanting too much at the same time, but she was really enjoying it.

Sabo glanced over to the bar side and Koala noticed it was very busy. It was also really warm inside. '' I didn't mean you should slow down. I think it's better to wait a little until you drink something heavy again. Want to go outside? We can get the drinks on our way if you want. ''

She agreed and thought some fresh air might be good. He stood up and took her jacket. Holding it up for her, she moved her arms inside and thanked the man.

'' You're welcome miss. '' He said with a nod. He took her hand and looked at her questioningly. She smiled at him in response as if to say: It's alright.

Smiling back, he navigated her through the crowd. She received a pinch from Nami in her arm and a wink.

Sabo passed on a bottle with bruising liquid. Outside, they stood against a wall enjoying their drinks. '' You're right. It's really good and refreshing. ''

'' The drink or being outside? I guess it counts for both? '' He grinned.

'' It does actually now I think about it. '' Because she did mean the drinks but the breeze was really refreshing too. It was dark but that didn't stop people from going out in the city at night. Faint music was heard from several places and the female spotted some drunk youths falling, standing up and laughing repeatedly while they made their way to the next bar or club.

'' I'm always missing out on all this.. '' She muttered not directly realizing she was talking out loud instead of thinking.

'' Going to the bar isn't all you can do in Baltigo. There are more amazing places to visit. '' He answered.

'' I bet.. You do this weekly? ''

'' Most of the weekends, yes. Unless we've got a vacation planned or other events. What do you usually do in your weekends? ''

'' Work and in the evenings spending time with uncle and family or watching movies on my laptop.. chatting.. My weekends are not that exciting. ''

Again she gave an excuse for something that was part of her life being not as great as it actually was. '' It sounds comfortable. I wouldn't mind watching a movie with some popcorn… '' He seemed to hesitate, but he continued nevertheless. '' …and snuggling in a bed or on the couch. It sounds really nice actually, don't you think? ''

Koala gulped. How many times did she blush already? Did he notice it? When he mentioned the word 'snuggling' her mind managed to tease her by making her think of Sabo and her snuggling in a bed watching a movie. Was that his intention? Probably not because Koala really had a lively imagination and she didn't want to over think every word he said.

''S-So you live with your brothers and everyone in the bar seems quite close.. You mentioned something about sworn brothers.. Ace's adoptive parents.. What's all that about? '' She still didn't get the lineage in this 'familia' as Nami called it.

He chuckled. '' Want me to explain? It could take hours though. ''

'' Looks like I've got time. '' She managed to change the subject..

'' Hm..Where to start.. '' He said looking at the sky. '' Ace is adopted by uncle Edward and Luffy's grandfather is Lu's guardian. The three of us swore to a cup of sake we would be brothers and lived together on the second floor ever since then. Uncle Edward has a lot of adopted sons, Luffy has quite a few friends he considers family and we have some other friends too. That's what it's about in the most basic form. I could explain how and when everyone joined, but that's a real hassle. '' He explained with half a smile.

She didn't notice she was still holding on to his hand until he started caressing it with his thumb. It made a strange feeling enter her stomach and the caressing kind of tickled but it also felt reassuring. The female was enjoying it.

'' It sounds logical if you explain it like that. Please keep it that way. '' She joked around.

'' Hmm, it does. ''

When Koala turned her face because the man muttered the words she was met with his unique eyes. His face was close and she couldn't look away.

'' Tell me about your family. '' He said while his breath that smelled like apples gently touched her skin.

'' M-My family.. I.. I lived with uncle Jinbei ever since I was small.. there's really not much to explain about it.. It's just.. ''

She couldn't really continue, not wanting too and being too distracted to come up with a good explanation. He took her bottle and placed both on the window sill. Slowly and gently pulling her towards him with his hands while not breaking eye contact with her he seemed to want to ask something.

'' W-What? '' Koala asked nervously. Her chest was going upside down as the feeling in her stomach took over. She felt a little lightheaded, not sure whether it was from the alcohol or not.

'' Do you mind? '' He muttered still.

She shook her head and placed her free hand on his moving chest. He let go of her hand and placed his on her hips while Koala rested her other hand on his chest too.

They barely knew each other and again she surprised herself by not minding this at all. She promised herself to enjoy this evening.

After a few seconds but what seemed minutes to Koala his face came closer and closer to hers. She forgot how to act, how to kiss and how to think. Her nerves didn't make it any better and sure enough, Sabo backed away.

Instantly, even though she knew she shouldn't, she felt guilty.

'' Hey, if you're not okay with this, then don't be afraid to say so. Don't push yourself Koala. I'm going too fast with this, I know that. ''

Koala gulped and looked down. She didn't want this to be ruined. Not now.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up and shook her head.

Right away she took his face in her hands and kissed him shortly. The brief moment their lips touched Sabo looked startled and Koala was really surprised herself.

Realizing she was still holding his face she quickly let go of him and coughed. '' Uhm.. Yeah.. '' She was sure of her decision a moment ago. What happened to that confidence? '' I-I don't usually do this.. I mean, I did kiss before and such, but I never.. I never kissed a guy first. '' Still not sure what the man was thinking she quickly added: '' It's my fault.. ''

That made him blink and he quickly stepped towards her and held her arms. '' You know? It might be a good idea to stop apologizing, making excuses for who you are and what you do, because you're a great girl and I don't want you to feel like you're not worth enough to make decisions yourself. ''

He said something that was right on the spot. No matter how much she hated it herself, it was a habit she could never get rid of.

Another bad habit of hers was the fact that tears tried to escape her eyes.

'' Did I say something wrong? Koala? Did I hurt you? '' Panicking, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

His worried eyes made her smile. '' No, No, I'm fine. It's.. You're right. '' She shrugged. '' I'm not confident and I'm really quiet and even though this is a great evening I manage to miss out on great chances even now.. I.. '' She wanted to continue but Sabo shook his head smiling.

'' Don't think like that Koala. ''

'' Easier said than done. '' She replied not being able to keep away the defensive tone.

'' I know. It's a real struggle and one day I am going to break through that thick invisible wall of yours. I promise you that. '' He moves his hands down until he reached her hands and held them. '' You're a great girl, but I have a feeling you don't realize that yourself yet. Hmm? ''

She nodded and let go of his hands. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her in return and kissed her on top of her head.

'' I barely know you and yet it feels comfortable. '' Sabo muttered in her hair. Koala smiled and listened to his heartbeat, felt his slightly vibrating chest as he talked and unconsciously her chest started to move with his in sync.

She didn't know how long they stood there like that, but it felt warm and cozy and she didn't want to let go. Koala always loved hugging but didn't do it much with people. Especially not good looking men. Sabo seemed gentle and caring. That was a completely different impression than what she had during their first meeting.

At some point his arms loosened and she looked up as she took it as a sign. He looked down smiling. She couldn't help but stare at his smile.

'' Are you- '' He started but Koala interrupted.

'' Don't ask. ''

They got closer to each other and made their lips touch each other again. Slowly, she moved hers and tasted the sweet taste of his. They were soft and softly sucked on her upper lip. Deepening the kiss, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment to its fullest.

After a while he slowly and gently broke apart and smiled again. His cheeks had a red color and his lips looked darker now too. She smiled back and wanted some more quality time but Sabo turned his head to the window and saw three faces pressed against the window. One was Luffy's, the second Nami's and the third.. believe it or not.. Robin's..

Koala's eyes grew big as she saw the creepy faces staring at them with big smiles on their faces. Both Koala and Sabo gasped in surprise and his face turned angry almost right away. The female's reaction however.. She hid her face in Sabo's collar. She would never ever get out of there again.

Nami and Luffy smirked and Robin waved apologetically. Sanji hit Luffy with his towel and seemed to flirt with Nami and Robin. They laughed and walked away.

'' Can I apologize now? ''

She shook her head because she didn't want to come out and it wasn't his fault.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

He found it funny even Robin joined the other two to peek at them and was fairly enjoying the moment Koala tried to hide herself in his shirt. He had to remember to thank them for that..

About an hour later or maybe two hours because Sabo lost track of time, the two were complaining about school and cracking up because of a joke Sabo made.

One of the twin from the Club approached him. '' Dude, the headmaster, some people call him Whitebeard. Why? He doesn't even have a beard man. '' He was half drunk but seemed to be rather serious about the subject.

'' Hey, hey, hey, we do not question the beard subject. Got that? '' Sabo raised his eyebrows and waited for an answer.

'' No questioning the beard. Or you mean moustache. Got it. Thanks dude. '' He held up his beer and walked away. Sabo didn't get why he thanked him, but the matter seemed solved, so no worries right?

'' Now I think about it.. He rather does have the laugh of a pirate, doesn't he? He would fit in as Whitebeard in any pirate movie. He would be perfect for the role. '' Koala said with a smile.

'' Oh he does alright! His Gurararara-laugh is something no one else could or should match. '' He tried to imitate the laugh which he failed miserably at, but it did make her laugh and really, that laugh of hers? It was beautiful and cheerful. Her eyes had that gleam again and Sabo had the urge to kiss her again. He hoped she would be the first one not to mysteriously disappear early in the morning, considering she would even want to go upstairs with him..

She rested her head on his shoulder as they both drank a bottle of beer.

He caressed her hair. '' Do you like the beer? You never had it before after all, which really surprises me to be honest. ''

'' It's great.. A lot girls say it's kind of gross and I do have to get used to it, but hey, a first time for everything right? ''

'' True that dear. You know, I'm just going to say it straight out, since it's really bothering me actually.. '' He didn't know why he started on it, but he hoped it wouldn't scare her off.

She looked up at him a little confused and nervous, so he decided to quickly continue. '' I really hope it won't be over after this night. I would like for us to continue having these amazing moments together to get to know each other, because I really like you, Koala. '' He met with her eyes and awaited her answer.

Smiling, she agreed. '' I like you too. I'm feeling really comfortable with you.. and Nami was right. I did have to try at least to talk to people and yeah.. I managed I think. Meeting you was definitely not a mistake from the heavens. '' She said jokingly. '' I would like to do many more things with you, like the snuggling in bed, watching a movie and visit other places in town. ''

She still eyed insecure but the answer made him really happy. '' How about we go snuggling now, exchange numbers and Facebook and such and see what the future will bring us? I can show you where we live. It will be quiet upstairs.. '' Maybe he went overboard.. Maybe he would scare her off now, but he couldn't help it. He always started to talk without thinking first when he had a few bottles of beer, not that it was an excuse, but still..

She stared at him for a moment and then nodded. '' I would love to see where you live. ''

What if she didn't get the hint? He wanted to do more than snuggling, that was clear to him. But was it for her? He would definitely not do things without her wanting to, especially since he came to find out how insecure she actually was.

'' Okay. '' He took her hand and helped her through the crowds to the back door. They walked up the wooden stairs and Sabo opened another door to the second floor and let Koala go through first.

Switching on the lights, he noticed how messy it actually was.. He forgot to clean up..

'' Sorry for the mess. '' He said startled. '' I normally always clean up on Friday, but somehow, I forgot to do so today. '' Was she even going to believe him?

She giggled in response and took her time to look around.

'' Do you want some water? We've had quite a lot alcohol.. ''

Koala turned around smiling with her rosy cheeks. He could see the alcohol had its effect on her. It wasn't much however and he wasn't one to talk, he felt pretty lightheaded himself. She nodded at him and turned around to look at the pictures on the wall.

Sabo smiled back and walked to the kitchen. He took two big glasses and filled them with cold water. When he went back to the living room he noticed she was looking at a rather large picture. They took it many years ago and almost everyone was on it. Uncle Edward's family, Luffy's and other friends gathered to take the picture. Sabo wasn't there around that time but he still loved it.

'' Family reunion. Uncle Edward finds them important to both get to know everyone better and catch up with those he sees less. He really knows how to keep a large family together, no matter what happens. '' Looking at it, he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgia even though he had only been here for three years. It was enough however, to know every single person had their own tough past to deal with and somehow uncle still managed to keep everyone in one piece.

'' O-Oh.. '' She answered which raised questions for Sabo. She focused her attention on someone on the right but turned to look at his brothers. '' Ace and Luffy were still kids here. They look really cute. '' She didn't sound happy like earlier, which made Sabo sad for a moment so he approached her and passed her the glass.

Once she took it he rested his free hand on her face. '' Is there something on the picture that bothers you? '' He asked worried.

'' N-No.. Not really.. Let's just.. '' She held up her glass and drank the substance.

Sabo nodded and emptied his glass quickly. '' '' What did you think of the evening? I didn't scare you yet, did I? ''

The smile returned on her face and a butterfly made itself known in his stomach. '' You're asking it as if the evening is over already. '' She placed her glass on a small table and continued. '' I loved it. I don't know what I've been missing out on. And no, you didn't scare me yet. So keep doing your best and hey, maybe I'll visit a second time. '' She grinned at him after finishing and looked down.

'' Alright. I'll do my best miss. Nami would never forgive me if I scared you anyway and I really like you Koala.. '' The last part came out without thinking about it. He just said it, taking a risk but knowing it would be worth it in the end.

And sure enough, she looked up again and had the twinkle in her eyes. He placed his glass on the small table next to hers and took both her hands. Walking to the stairs that was connected to the living room, they walked upstairs and entered Sabo's small room.

The structure of the house was rather strange. Even though the brothers lived on one floor, the ceiling was really high. Shanks added a wooden stairs and semi-floor from which could be looked down from to the living room and the bedrooms were small because of the few space that was left. Another door on that floor led to Shanks and Makino's floor.

He turned on his night-lamp which created a calm and somewhat darker atmosphere in the room. Koala's features became sharper which he didn't mind at all, because it looked beautiful on her too. He gave her the time to look around and get used to the room until he'd hold her face in his hands and caressed her cheekbones. He brought his face closer to hers and kissed her cherry colored lips. She tasted a bit like the apple cider they had earlier.

She sucked softly on his lower lip and when Sabo couldn't hold back any longer, he asked entrance with his tongue. She opened her mouth a little and allowed his tongue to pleasure hers while he explored her mouth at the same time. He slowly moved his hand from her waist to her ribs and then her breast. Koala gulped and he opened his eyes to see if she was okay with it, when she didn't object and actually sucked on his tongue in response he cupped her left breast and caressed it.

Sabo's pants tightened when he thought of how good Koala was at kissing.. Touching a button on her shirt, he unbuttoned it and broke the kiss, only to move to her neck and softly kissing and sucking on it. Koala's breathing got heavier as he unbuttoned her shirt completely and wanted to take it off but Koala interrupted by wanting to take off his shirt.

He stopped temporarily and took off his and saw how she looked at his upper body. Sabo smiled at her and gently turned her around making her lean against him. He clicked her belt open and took it off while kissing her neck again. He moved his hand under her open shirt to click her bra open. His pants tightened even more seeing her breasts revealing themselves.

She managed to take off her bra without removing her open shirt which made him wonder why she didn't want to take it off. He wasn't going to ask her since he would respect her choices and wishes. She probably had a reason for it after all.

The bra fell on the ground and Koala moved her hand in between them to get off his pants. When she touched his most sensitive part of his body he couldn't help but jerk his hips a little. Helping her taking off his pants and the rest of their clothes, except for Koala's shirt, he started caressing her breasts again while enjoying the feeling of having her soft, warm and naked body against his. His member seemed to be ready to proceed and when he moved his hand downwards her body, he felt a small trail of a substance gliding down her thigh.

As he turned until he stood before the female again he lifted her small body and brought her to his bed. Gently lying on her, making sure not to hurt her, he started to kiss her breast and suck on the nipple.

A feeling he always enjoyed shot through his body as she gasped at the action and he looked up for a moment if she was still okay with this. She looked back and caressed his face.

Opening the drawer of his night stand he took out a condom and Koala smiled, spreading her legs slightly as an answer.

He grinned as he wrapped the condom around his penis and softly made his way inside Koala.

She moaned when he gently pushed himself inside and slightly squeezed his butt with her hand encouraging him to go on.

He started pushing slowly and she moved along with him. He liked seeing her red cheeks, closed eyes and moans that came out of that small mouth. Earlier today she couldn't even bring out a word and now she was lying in his bed while he pleasured her.

Koala's body jerked up against his and moved like a cat's when it stretched whenever he pushed a bit harder or moaned himself. He sucked on her neck while she touched Sabo's hair and explored his body. He didn't mind it whenever she caressed his scars.. He normally did with other girls, but Koala's hands were so gentle and warm.. Maybe he really did like her more than he thought he did..

He managed to push three more times before his sperm would release. At that moment, he gave a harder push which surprised Koala in a pleasant way and he chuckled at the reaction she gave.

Panting, he pulled himself out and saw luckily no blood on his member. He was scared for a moment she would still be a virgin even though not every girl bled after her first time. He decided it wouldn't be a good tactic to ask her a question like that and softly got off Koala after giving her one more kiss on her mouth. He made a small knot in the condom and threw it away in his trash bin. Returning to the bed, Koala was still breathing heavily and panting. If his member wasn't tired it would have turned him on all over again.

He quickly returned to lie next to the girl under the warm blankets and wrapped his arms around her.

'' Hhmm.. '' He let out, snuggling his face in hers. '' I didn't hurt you, did I? Was it ok? If there's anything you're not satisfied with, please say so.. '' He muttered, not really sure why.

Koala started laughing out loud which worried him even more. '' W-What..? '' He started but Koala turned to her side to face the man.

'' I loved it. You're really good at it. You didn't hurt me and it isn't as if I'm paying you or anything for this, not that I would in the first place.. '' She was quiet for a few seconds making an embarrassed face. '' A-Anyway, I really liked it. '' She caressed his side and Sabo chuckled a little embarrassed too.

'' Sorry.. I just don't want to disappoint you or anything.. ''

When she looked at him puzzled, he quickly continued. '' B-But it doesn't matter now right? You liked it.. and I really loved it too. ''

They cuddled and enjoyed each other's presence for a while and Sabo was about to doze off when someone knocked on the door. '' Who is there? ''

'' It's me and drunk Ace. ''

Sabo grunted in the crook of Koala's neck, not wanting to be interrupted now but Marco apparently gave himself permission to enter and drunk Ace walked in wobbling dangerously. '' Heeyyy~ How is my sweet brother? Do you have her number yet? Or is she going to leave too? ''

Koala stirred a little at the man's reaction and Sabo apologized in her ear. Marco pulled Ace by his arm and turned his attention to Koala as Sabo pulled up the blanket over the female a bit higher.

'' Do you want to stay over? I can call boss Jinbei for you. '' He asked while struggling to keep Ace quiet.

Koala's eyes grew wide with shock and looked at Sabo's alarm-clock. '' O-Oh no.. I really need to go! I promised him to be home early. ''

All the happy feelings he felt a moment ago, were suddenly gone. Did she really have to go?

'' It's alright Koala, Marco can call boss Jinbei. I'm sure he's okay with this, right? '' He asked hopefully.

Marco smiled slightly. '' I wouldn't allow her to go home in this state anyway. I'm calling him. Try not to panic until I finished the call, Koala. '' With that he wanted to leave but Ace wasn't done yet.

'' Hey, hey! Lu told me he has a high toprance, which means he won't get drunk fast. Unfair~ right? '' He said stumbling over his words.

'' You mean tolerance Ace. '' Marco answered patiently.

'' Ooohh~ So that's what he meant! Thank you sweetie. '' he gave Marco a kiss on his cheek and wobbled out of the room again.

Marco raised his eyebrows blushing slightly and Koala looked up suspiciously.

When Marco was gone, her first question was: '' Marco blushed? ''

Sabo chuckled and caressed her cheek. '' He doesn't want to admit he likes Ace. Neither does Ace want to admit he's in love with Marco, except for when he's drunk and forgets it the next day. '' He pulled her back since she was slightly sitting instead of lying and hugged her. '' But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is you. Do you mind staying here? ''

'' It's not that I mind being here. '' She answered quickly. '' It's just.. It's the first time going out like this since a long time and I don't want to break promises like that.. He's already pretty overprotective. ''

Sabo smiled gently and nodded. '' It's alright. Marco knows him really well right? And he's your mentor. Boss will surely listen to him, am I right? '' He used the word 'right' an awfully lot.

'' Hm.. '' She answered which wasn't really an answer and Sabo took it as a gesture of her thinking about it.

After fifteen minutes Marco came back and told them it was okay and she could spend the night here. Relief washed over her face but she would always have the slight worried look in her eyes. It never went away..

'' Do you have a shirt? For a pajamas I mean? I still need to wear this tomorrow I guess.. '' It didn't sound like she looked forward to the next day and neither did Sabo want to think about it. He got up and walked all naked to his closet. He took out one of his oversized shirts he only wore when he was home and passed it to Koala. She put it on while he checked his phone and when he looked at her, she looked rather cute.

Joining her in bed again, she rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him as he did the same. He turned off the night lamp and stared into the darkness until the sleep would catch him again and make him enter a world of dreams.

* * *

 **Answers:**

 **Ezaria:** I'm glad you like the story! And it makes me really happy to hear you can vividly imagine the scenes haha, it was one of the things I was realyl afraid of and it turns out I didn't fail at it. :D And psstt, alcohol plays a big part to her opening up too haha

 **Mary D. Sue:** She's the biggest SaboAla shipper, mind you! xD

* * *

 **If you don't know what to write in a review:**

Can you give examples of what you liked/disliked about this chapter?

What did you think of their bedscene?

Do you have advice for me for future chapters/stories?


	7. Chapter 7

**A little bit of an explanation: I based this on the western student life where having sex on the day they meet is normal haha. With other words: This starts off as a one night stand. Alcohol did play a role, but you have to know as Koala mentioned herself: She already did some stuff with guys earlier. So she is used to this thing. :) I hope that explains a bit her sudden change in behaviour. Another important detail is that Sabo is an associate of Nami, Marco and Jinbei which makes it easier for Koala to trust him a little.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(Reviews will be answered at the end)**

* * *

 **Koala:**

 _Koala dreamt she was back in her village eating smashed potatoes with meat in sauce with her mother. Looking at the picture on the wall she saw her dad. She didn't see him ever since she was transported to the closed district for the nobles called MarieJoa with several other villagers back when she was still only a toddler._

 _What she didn't understand however, was why she was all grown up. She was 23 years old, eating dinner with the person she said goodbye to many years ago. Why was she here? And why did everything look so blurry?_

 _Looking around in the room she noticed her mother wasn't there anymore. She was eating with her just a moment ago. Did she go away? Not that Koala wanted to see her so badly, but thinking of all these questions because the scene was so strange in her eyes.. it gave her a headache._

 _She stood up and walked outside. Somehow, she reached the front door in a few steps only and when she opened it, she was suddenly on the deck of the Sun member's ship. The sun felt warm and again everything confused Koala. What was happening?_

 _Stepping onto the deck and looking around for the members she started to think of as her family she noticed it was empty. There weren't even any tools on the ship._

 _Just then, her uncle Tiger climbed on deck and she could see the water dripping off his clothes and dark brown skin. '' U-Uncle? '' She hadn't seen him for years.. She saw him die.. Why was he here? A dreading thought crossed her mind and immediately, she shook her head. This wasn't real, was it? It just couldn't be unless she was dead and she was pretty damn sure she went to bed just like every night. Was this a dream? It had to be._

'' _What about your promise, Koala? '' He said with his deep voice. '' You promised me Koala. You would change it. Why didn't you? Why are you still so scared? '' His voice became louder and louder as he threw his questions at her head. '' Why are you hiding Koala? I trained you to become strong! ''_

 _Tears were flowing down her cheeks as regret, pain and sorrow filled her mind and heart. He was her uncle.. Uncle Tiger wouldn't talk like this to her.._

Her phone vibrated and Koala woke up cursing the dream. Taking the phone in her hands she was blinded by the flash of light. She managed to turn the alarm off and thought of why her phone was on the night stand.. She was in another room too.. Why did she always have these dreams when she was in a bad mood? Her head hurt a lot and she felt like hurling over already. Did she have that much alcohol the previous night?

Looking around, the memories from the night came back to her. She was lying next to Sabo.. She actually did it with him... It's not like she didn't do it before, but she didn't think it would go so easily. She didn't have a single doubt during the night. Koala wanted to blame it on the alcohol but she couldn't shake the thought it was her own decision too. She liked the way she was so confident for once and even though it was only for one night, she hoped just like Sabo it wouldn't end this morning. She was starting to like him and it wasn't like they were in a relationship. They barely knew each other after all.

And then her alarm.. Her phone vibrated.. Koala's mind was trying to make her think several things at once. The memories from the night, the dream, her phone..

She had to work! She was already late. She quickly stood up and was met with a sudden pain in her thighs and sides. She definitely wasn't used to having sex anymore.

The man was lying curled up under his blankets his arms still stretched out because he was hugging Koala during the night. She gulped and thought of how cute he actually looked. He seemed innocent for once.. Unlike during the night when he showed his abs so confidently and knew how to pleasure her.

Her phone started vibrating once more and this time it was because someone called. Looking at the screen with half closed eyes because of the lack of sleep she saw it was Izo, her boss.

'' H-Hello? Izo? I'm so sorry! I know I'm terribly late and I'm supposed to be there already but I didn't expect the night to go like this and I'll be there in twenty minutes, so please don't fire me! '' She whispered in a panic.

'' Good morning sweetheart. Enjoyed your night? It's alright, really. Let's see.. How long will it take you to get ready? Two hours? Yes, that should be enough. '' He said with his voice as if he was always singing.

'' Uhm, Izo? I'm not you who needs two full hours to get ready. Twenty minutes is really enough for me. ''

'' No, no! I'll see you in two hours. So take your time. See you! '' He hung up and Koala was left staring at the screen of her hugging with an actual koala.

Someone knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. Did anyone in this house know the concept: Privacy?

Ace walked in with a very grumpy looking face and muttered what seemed to be a: Good morning. '' So he's still asleep? Figured. Don't try, he won't wake up until his alarm goes off and since it's weekend, he wouldn't dare turn that thing on. So yeah, you're stuck with me for now. And no, this doesn't happen weekly, you're an exception since he really seems to like you and I don't want him to fall into a depression because another girl left without any notice. But really, does he have your number yet? All this and still not even a number? Where is the time getting a number was actually a real achievement right? Want Sabo's sweater? I guess I can give you one of Lu's sweatpants to borrow, he's almost as small as you, so it would fit you. I don't think your clothes from yesterday are still fresh so yeah… I'm talking too much. ''

Koala had a hard time following the man's story and only stared at him while he was rubbing his temples and had bloodshot eyes. '' Hangovers are terrible.. I really should drink less. Ah forget it, it won't work. '' He sighed and opened Sabo's closet. Taking a sweater, he threw it to the female and gave her a towel. She muttered a thank you and felt embarrassed for the way she looked. She was only wearing an oversized shirt, her hair looked like a mess and her face was probably just as horrible as Ace's.

'' U-Uhm.. I need to go to work.. wearing a sweater and sweatpants.. Izo won't like that.. '' She whispered hesitantly.

'' Oh yeah! He won't like it indeed. But do you have another choice? I mean, Nami said you only have stuff for the beach next weekend in those shopping bags and nothing more. Makino and Shanks are gone with Lu, so I wouldn't know what to give you from her clothes either.. Don't worry. I'm giving you a ride. I'll talk to Izo. ''

She tended to forget Ace was also sir Edward's adopted son and thus the other adopted sons' brother. The entire lineage still confused her slightly but that didn't matter. '' Are you allowed to drive yet? Isn't the alcohol still in your system? You seemed really drunk last night. ''

'' Hmm, some of it is still in my blood probably, but it's been eight hours. So, enough for me. Makino's shampoo is in the bathroom. I'll see you downstairs for breakfast okay? '' He smiled grumpily and left.

Koala looked down at the sweater and towel in her lap. Then she turned to Sabo who was still sleeping peacefully and gave him a kiss on his cheek. It would be a waste to let this be a one night stand only right?

Standing up again, she walked to the door and turned right to see whether that door led to the bathroom or not. Luckily, it did and Ace seemed to have prepared more than only shampoo for her. Luffy's sweatpants were already there, a toothbrush and soap bundled up on a small stool. She remembered she needed underwear so she walked back to Sabo's room and this time she saw the shopping bags lying in a corner of the room. Did Ace bring them here? Or someone else?

He did seem quite capable of doing things even though he must have had a terrible hangover. She took out a new set of underwear she bought with Nami and made her way back to the shower.

While the warm water ran over her body her thoughts wandered off to Sabo. He didn't see her mark on her back, which was a good thing. She didn't think she would still think of it while she was a little drunk that night. And she meant what she told him, he was really good at doing it. She hadn't had so much pleasure in a while and it didn't seem wrong to do it with him. She was starting to want see the man more often and get to know him better.

After the shower she put on the comfortable clothes that actually fit her and didn't even look like male clothes any longer. She brushed her teeth and hair and looked in the mirror to check on her face. She looked like she had to survive walking through a desert without food or water for ten days.

Already imagining Izo's rant about her normal 'cute and vintage' classy style made her grateful for having another hour and a half to get to work.

She walked into the kitchen where she could smell the roasted bread and coffee as her stomach made itself known.

'' Hungry? '' Ace smirked. He passed her an aspirin and a glass of water. '' I bet you could one of these. ''

He was right. She did have a headache and the shower did ease the light pain in her body but she was still dizzy and felt like hurling over. '' I'm not used to drinking so much alcohol in one night. ''

'' And you'll have more. Pops is never happy without a good glass of beer. It's become some sort of tradition in the family. '' He gave her a plate with roasted bread and baked eggs. '' My cooking skills aren't as good as Sabo's, but I do think it's edible. Enjoy. '' He finished his bread and eggs in two bites and left Koala to slowly enjoy hers while he got ready for his work.

When he came back he was dressed in only black short pants with an orange belt and an orange cowboy hat. A weird thought crossed her mind. He didn't cosplay, did he?

He wasn't even wearing a t-shirt and Koala started to doubt whether having good abs was another family tradition.

'' Thanks for the food. I enjoyed it. '' She said with a smile. '' What kind of work do you do? ''

'' Running a garage with my other brother Thatch. '' He threw his crocodile leather backpack over one shoulder and took the car keys from the counter. '' Ready? ''

She nodded thinking she still had to brush her teeth but realizing right away she actually brushed her teeth before eating breakfast.. How could she forget that?

'' Alright, let's go then. '' He wanted to leave but Koala remembered another thing she had to do.

'' I'll be right there. '' She ran upstairs and entered Sabo's room once more. Searching for a paper, she found a small notebook and opened it on an empty page. She wrote down her number and placed it on his pillow. He couldn't possibly miss out on that right?

Once at the bookstore Ace walked with her inside while Izo was talking about a certain book with an old woman. She visited the store at least once a week and became one of Izo's favorite customers. She left after buying two books and smiled at Koala, who smiled in return, only to meet Izo's angry face afterwards.

'' What's with that outfit? I gave you two complete hours and you walk in as if you were on the set of the Walking Dead an hour ago and forgot to remove the zombie make-up. ''

Koala pouted at Ace, who answered for her. '' Good morning to you too sunshine, or should I call you moonlight since you have all that white make-up on your face? ''

Izo held up his hand and continued, ignoring Ace. '' Koala sweetheart, I have some make-up for you in the back and a spare kimono. Go change. '' He demanded with his chin high in the air.

Koala's face turned bright red right away after imagining herself in a big dress and shook her head. '' With all due respect but I think I'm just fine, thank you. ''

Ace whistled. '' The sass.. ''

Izo pursed his lips and took some books to put them back in the shelves.

'' You know he doesn't mean it in a mean way. Well, I'm off Koala. '' Ace waved and left.

She sat down behind the counter and accepted the light pain in her sides to take over. The aspirin only worked against her headache..

Taking a book from a pile on the floor she unconsciously turned the pages without reading them. She did feel like crap and really, wearing sweatpants wasn't her style but the sweater.. it had Sabo's smell on it and it felt so comfortable. After such a rough night it was as if a piece of heaven was wrapped around her.

Her phone vibrated again and this time it was an unknown number. Her heart made a jump hoping it was Sabo. But a nagging voice (which suspiciously sounded like Ace's) clouded her mind: _What if you're just one of the many girls?_

She didn't want to think like that and almost pushed on the red button instead of the green one.

'' Hello? '' She greeted hesitantly.

'' Koala?! Thank god! I thought you really didn't want to see or talk to me any longer! I didn't see the notebook at first and panicked! How are you?'' His voice sounded as if he smoked, but she knew it was one of the side effects of the alcohol they had last night.

'' I-I'm fine. Good thing you saw it then. I'm sorry I had to leave you all of the sudden! I forgot I had to work so Ace gave me a ride because he had to work too and.. yeah… I hope you don't mind. '' She had to remind herself to message uncle Jinbei too..

'' Ah that sucks, but I'm glad you're okay. How about we snuggle tonight? ''

That question startled her. He changed the subject to snuggling each other just like that? '' W-What do you mean? After doing it and barely knowing each other you suddenly ask to snuggle? '' She couldn't help but let out a giggle.

'' I mean, I have this great idea! Do you have time tonight? ''

'' I do, but.. ''

'' Alright! Then make sure to wear comfortable clothes because I'm going to take you to a place where we'll stay for the night! And don't worry about food! Do you want me to pick you up? After work? ''

He didn't give her a chance to interfere and neither did Koala have an excuse to say no. She thought it could be interesting to really get to know this man. He was a second date worth to her. And it wasn't only him, the other people at the bar were really amazing too. She felt less insecure and more confident thanks to them. Nami was right after all..

'' I have time.. I want to see uncle first though. I feel like he deserves an explanation at least. And by comfortable clothes.. you mean pajamas? ''

'' Or more like: A certain sweater with my little brother's sweatpants? ''

Her stomach made a turn and decided he couldn't at least see her Walking Dead-face. '' I-I.. ''

'' I'm just kidding. I don't mind you wearing my clothes. In fact, I can't wait to see you again. '' The last part came out softer than the rest and Koala's heart started to beat faster because of that and the fact Izo was quite right. She looked indeed horrible.

'' I'll see you at my place then? Do you know where I live? ''

'' Don't worry, I'll get the address since boss is part of the familia too. What time? ''

'' Seven? '' She would have some time get properly ready.

'' Sure. See you then. '' He happily hung up and Koala couldn't help but smile like a goof at her phone.

'' Congratulations with your date. '' Marco's voice came from above her and Koala looked upwards only to meet with his deep blue eyes. '' Hi. '' He said.

'' Hi. '' She answered with a high-pitched voice.

He let out a chuckle and held out his hand to help her up. '' I see you've had a rough night. He didn't hurt you, did he? ''

Koala's cheeks grew warm and immediately she shook her head. '' N-No! I'm fine, really. ''

'' Hmm? Because you're kind of a- ''

'' –sight to behold? '' Izo finished his sentence with a lot sarcasm in his voice.

'' Ignore him. '' Marco replied pointing to the cross dresser.

Koala nodded in response.

'' I brought your bags and bicycle to your home. No one was there, so I came here. '' Marco looked at Izo and he nodded.

Confused she turned her attention from Marco to Izo and back again. '' What's wrong? ''

'' She deserves to know right? '' Izo asked the other man.

Marco thought for a moment '' Hmm.. She does. ''

'' What's happening? '' She asked clueless.

'' Remember that evening where there were no customers at all? Well, you can see it's happening again. There's a reason for that. The Government, or rather the higher ups called the Gorosei decided they needed to do more patrols in Baltigo. They chose the center of the city as their main target. '' Izo ran his hand through Koala's hair.

'' What do you mean by target? '' Koala asked suspiciously.

Marco continued. '' Their targets are the former slaves who escaped thanks to Fisher Tiger. ''

That struck her like lightning. It should have been expected, but the former slaves weren't mentioned anywhere for years and now they wanted to get rid of them all of the sudden?

'' That's why I made you go home. So they wouldn't have to see your face at least. '' Izo said sympathetically.

She started to breath heavily and thought of all the bad possibilities if any of the soldiers recognized her. '' I-I thought.. I.. '' She didn't even know what to answer. Sir Edward solved that problem right? Why was it a problem now?

The thoughts didn't reassure her. In fact, they made her feel terrified. She didn't want to go back to that time.

Her hands started shaking and warm and strong arms wrapped themselves around her from her side. Izo pulled her towards him and made hushing sounds. '' We won't let anyone get near you Koala. We've got it under control. '' He said soothingly and she embraced his warm gesture until she would calm down.

'' W-Why now? ''

'' I know, I know. After everything went so well for you.. '' He caressed her hair and she eventually did calm down and looked up at him. He let go off her and Marco smiled.

'' So that means I can take the rest of the day off again? '' She wasn't happy about it because that meant less money this month.

'' I'll make it up to you, I promise. Now go get ready for your date! '' He had a stern look in his eyes and smiled. '' Don't let this discourage you Koala. Try to enjoy your life as much as you can, okay? ''

She nodded in response and followed Marco outside.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

Sabo danced around in the living room in his shorts only. He was going on an actually date! When was his last one?! Oh yeah! He never had one! Now he finally managed to get a beautiful girl to like him and he really liked her too. He also knew exactly what he wanted to do tonight and he was confident she would love it. He already asked Ace to borrow his Volkswagen which had an open ceiling. Sabo would push the chairs into the bottom so they would have an even floor. Placing lots of blankets and pillows on it and stargazing while eating and watching a movie while snuggling? It sounded really awesome to him and he seriously couldn't wait until it was seven pm.

He walked downstairs into the bar that was closed right now. He didn't know Luffy and his godparents were back already until he heard Luffy screaming. '' GET THE FUCK OUT YOU UGLY DONKEYS! ''

He ran outside immediately and saw Shanks holding Luffy trying to keep him away.. from Sabo's father..

Frustration made place for happiness and he could feel it slowly building up from the bottom until it would reach its max level and he would explode with rage. So Stelly wasn't lying. They really did find him even though uncle Edward managed to arrange everything so well for the past three years. His scars started burning again and his left eye hurt. They knew he wasn't going to listen. They told him how disappointed they were in him so many times, so why would they still come to him? Because of the family reputation? He could care less about it.

'' What are you doing here? '' he asked with a dangerously calm voice. Sabo and his father didn't look like each other at all and he treated that as a gift. He had black, long and wavy hair and a curly moustache. With his thick eyebrows he looked like he could join the puppets in Sesame Street any moment and he weighed a lot more than Sabo, probably because of all the food they had there to eat.

Luffy broke free from his godfather and ran towards Sabo. '' They want to take you back Sabo! They say I'm not your family and that you have to leave us! There is no way I'm going to let you go! Please don't! '' He told him with his puppy eyes.

Sabo ruffled the boy's hair without losing eye contact with his father.

Luffy took Sabo's hand away from his head. '' I'm your little brother, not that stupid Stealious. ''

At that, Sabo couldn't help but let out a little smile and embraced the boy in a hug. '' Don't worry. '' He whispered in his ear and nodded to Shanks. The godfather took Luffy by his arms and dragged him inside after giving Sabo one more stern look as if asking: Are you sure you can handle this?

Once they were inside and Sabo had to face his oh so great father in his blue shorts and returned his attention to him. '' So? What are you doing here? I'm not coming back. ''

He wiped away the sweat that formed on his forehead with a handkerchief and started talking. '' I know that you fool. I came here to warn you, Sabo. '' He had a heavy accent which anyone nearby could be alarmed with the fact he was an important noble.

'' Warn me? And how is that going to scare me to come back? ''

His father Outlook was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were cold and harsh as they always had been. When Sabo was still a kid they always terrified him. Outlook always gave him that look, only him. While his mother and Stelly got to see the warm and spoiled side of him, Sabo had to endure the many horrible traits his father had.

'' Have you noticed the patrols throughout the city lately? The Gorosei managed to find out the former slaves, the Sun members, are still alive except for their leader, that black man, Tiger or something of course. They're hunting the other members down now. That's my warning. ''

Sabo didn't see what the threat towards Sabo was. He wasn't a slave, nor did he know Fisher Tiger.. The name did ring a bell and it seemed as if Sabo should know who he was, but he simply didn't understand what the link between him and those patrols were. '' So? ''

'' Just keep that in mind. '' He wrinkled his nose while looking around as if disgusted by the environment and stepped into the limousine. The long car drove off and Shanks came outside again.

He didn't say anything, but his look told Sabo he knew exactly what Outlook was talking about.

 **Koala:**

Back home and after having said goodbye to Marco, she sat at the kitchen table with Jinbei, who had his break from his work as fisher and seller at the same time sipping their tea.

'' So, you actually had a good time and met a boy. Sabo. Koala dear, I think it's time for you know.. '' Uncle coughed. '' .. The talk.. ''

Koala sighed and rubbed her temples, knowing this was coming.

'' I know you don't like it, most young people don't, but I really think it's necessary as I think it's important for me to show you what's out there in the world. ''

'' Uncle. '' She started with a tired voice. '' With all due respect, '' Was that the second time she used that today? '' I appreciate your concern, but please accept the fact I'm twenty-three years old and not a reckless teen anymore. I know you're worried, but really, I'm going to be fine. '' She took his old hands in hers and smiled. '' It's time for me to grow up too you know. '' She finished gently.

Somehow, it brought a tear to his eye which made Koala feel really awkward. '' Uncle.. ''

'' I'm sorry Koala. I know you're a strong and smart girl. It's hard for me to let you go like that. I have to prepare myself better perhaps. '' He nodded sternly and squeezed in her hands. '' I hope I can at least enjoy lunch with you today? ''

'' Of course uncle. And really, I feel good. Better than I did ever before. These people.. I think they're great. You were right.. Opening up to people really works. I'll be fine out there. I know I will. '' It wasn't like her to be confident but she loved it. It felt good to be certain about something for once. Sure, she was still worried about tons of things, but she had made choices too that made her feel a little confident.

'' Just be careful. This is a harsh and unfair world as you well know my dear. ''

Koala nodded in response and smiled again. '' Thank you, uncle. ''

'' And drink your tea! All that alcohol can't be good for you. '' He returned to his normal self and Koala sipped her tea.

She looked at the picture on the wall of all the Sun members. They were all mixed between members from the eastern countries and members from the southern ones. Koala was the only 'white' girl who sat on uncle Tiger's shoulders, smiling happily like any regular child. Nostalgia and sadness filled her body. She looked away before she really got sentimental and she couldn't have that today. She promised Izo not to be bothered by the soldiers.

She had lunch with her uncle and eventually got ready for the date. She put on some light make-up (a concealer) and only used her eyelash curler to make her eyelashes longer because she knew putting on mascara was going to annoy her during the night, just like it had the previous one. She put a serum in her hair like usual to make it smell like flowers and put on some deodorant. Looking in the mirror, she thought she slightly improved her look, but the clothes still bothered her. They were really comfortable but she looked like she stepped out of bed still. She made a picture and explained the situation to Nami through Whatsapp and sent the picture. It took Nami a while to recover from her laughing and eventually answered she should go for it because it would give Koala a chance to see if the man found appearances important or not.

Koala wanted to look at least clean and in her own style, especially on a date, but if he wanted to see her like this and he didn't actually care if she was topnotch or not.. then what was the problem?

She decided to go for it and prepared her backpack for the night.

* * *

 _ **Answers:**_

 **LittlemissTraffy** : Heyhey, thank you fofr the review! I appreciate your opinion. A little more is explained in this chapter so I hope it takes away the question you still had. I did give a warning haha and this fic is rated M so I think that should be enough as a warning for the hot scenes. ^^


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm halfway through the final chapter! (Ch11) I hope I'll finish it before chapter 10 is published here :)**

 **I have yet to think of an idea for City of Lost Dreams 2. I was thinking of MarcoxAce, but I have a small problem already... Anyway! I'll let you know when I made a final decision, so for now: Please Enjoy!**

 **(Reviews will be answered after the chapter)**

* * *

 **Koala:**

'' Ta-da! '' Sabo said happily while opening the ceiling of the car and the back door. There were several blankets spread over the bottom of the car with many pillows. A laptop was lying somewhere in between some pillows and a basket probably filled with delicious food was prepared too.

'' You.. prepared all this for tonight? '' Koala answered amazed. Throughout the entire journey to the high dunes he didn't want her look in the back of the car. He said it was a surprise and made her promise not to look until they arrived. He really went all out preparing it and as the sun went down Koala could already imagine the romantic evening they were going to spend with each other. There weren't many people around either. The nearest shop was about fifty meters away and there were only families who decided to have a picnic or barbeque at the beach. She could hear the sea and smell the salt. She heard seagulls flying far away and the wind blew softly through her hair. It was nor cold nor warm, but she knew the weather would soon cool down for the night.

Again, she looked down at her clothes, not feeling 'romantic' at all but Sabo reassured her she looked cute, which she didn't understand. How were sweaters and sweatpants on a girl who wore vintage cute? It didn't really make sense to her but it didn't make him treat her any different, not to mention that he was wearing a sweater and sweatpants himself. That made her feel slightly better.

'' All for a relaxing and beautiful evening with a gorgeous girl. What do you think? ''

She smiled, fluttered. '' I love it. '' In fact, she couldn't wait to get under those blankets and stargaze with him in his arms. It sounded perfect already.

He looked at her with his sea blue eyes, the left one paler than the other, and had a gleam in them she couldn't quite describe. It made him even more beautiful than he already was. She wouldn't mind staring at them for hours and she wanted him to look like that at her, she loved it.

'' Want to take a walk first? '' He asked hesitantly.

She wanted to answer but her stomach was first. It made a growling sound because she listened to Sabo's advice and didn't eat anything after lunch.

He chuckled in response and took her hand. '' Dinner it is. '' He helped her in the back of the car and crawled next to her.

Sitting on his knees after he took off his shoes like her, he placed the basket in front of them and opened it. A delicious smell of pizza that was still warm entered her nose and she couldn't wait until she could eat it. He took out two bottles of Jillz, the apple cider she really liked, and opened them with a bottle-opener and passed one to Koala.

Taking a draught, she crossed her legs and watched him take out the carton boxes with the pizza's.

'' Sanji makes the best ones. You'll want more after these. '' He promised with a playful grin and placed one of the two boxes on her lap. He held up one of the blankets and allowed Koala to crawl under it after holding up her pizza. He joined her and placed the laptop in front of him.

'' What did your uncle say? He wasn't mad, was he? '' He asked worried while they leaned against the back of the driver's seat.

'' Nah, he was fine with it. What about Robin and the others from the Club? We left them there at the bar without saying anything.. ''

'' Don't worry. '' He answered after taking a bite from his pizza pepperoni. '' We'll see what everyone thinks at school during the meeting. How's the pizza? ''

She caught him off guard. While she was staring at him she actually managed to forget to eat. '' I-I.. Uh.. '' She stuttered.

'' I'm joking, here. '' He took a slice from hers and held it before her mouth. Opening it, he placed a part in it and waited until she took a bite. It was indeed very good, but she didn't pay much attention because seriously, he looked gorgeous. He had this natural playful aura around him and his eyes were like a magnet that made you feel drawn to him. She painfully had to admit she finally knew what most girls at college must have felt like all the time. And now, the invisible wallflower ginger had a chance to make him hers? She hated to think it, but it was too good to be true.

'' What do you like about me? '' She blurted out without thinking first.

Sabo looked at her questioningly and made a thinking face, which was adorable too. '' Hm, I don't know you that well yet, but I think you're really cute. You're honest because your eyes always reveal your true intentions. '' When she made a startled face, he laughed. '' See? Didn't know that little fact about yourself eh? Well, here's something else. You're gentle. Not normally gentle, but the kind you don't see often. I don't know how to explain it, it's more a feeling.. something I still want to discover further about you. ''

She stayed quiet and thought about his answer. She never saw herself like this. If anything, she was clumsy, way too insecure, scared of almost everything, whiny, too curious and easy to piss off if you knew how to piss her off. Gentle, cute and truthful.. Those were concepts she never associated herself with. But then again, she didn't really interact much with people. At least, not according 'society standards'.

'' What about me? ''

'' Hm? ''

'' What do you like about me miss? '' He asked playfully after touching her cheek.

'' I.. uh.. Let me think. ''

'' That doesn't sound very promising. Am I that bad? ''

'' No, no! That's not what I meant! '' She quickly replied. '' I don't want to embarrass myself by saying something ridiculous. '' Koala pouted and managed to mess up once again.

Sabo started laughing and placed his face in the crook of her neck. Her stomach made at least three flips and the place where his nose touched her skin tickled. Now she would have a really hard time to think of some good traits.

'' I like the way you laugh.. '' She blurted out. '' I-I mean, you seem to enjoy life to its fullest and the way you always apologize is kind of sweet and you're funny. '' That was mostly it for now right? She only really knew him for one day. The other days at school didn't count any longer.

He looked up at her again and smiled. '' Thank you. I appreciate it. '' Looking down at her lap, his smile turned into a chuckle. '' You forgot your pizza again. ''

'' Moh! Who's fault is that!? ''

'' Why is it my fault? '' He said a little shocked, still smiling.

'' You're distracting me! ''

'' Me or my gorgeous smile? ''

'' Don't get all confident here mister. '' She answered skeptically.

He laughed. '' Alright, alright. Let's enjoy our meal for now, okay? ''

She nodded and smiled back before giving him a kiss on his cheek. '' You didn't deserve that, but alas. '' Then, she took her slice and enjoyed her pizza.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

As they finished their pizza's and ciders Sabo took out one more thing he had in store. Sanji prepared strawberries with molten chocolate wrapped around them which Sabo hoped would be a success. It would be according Sanji, but you never knew for sure.

'' Chocolate.. '' Koala said dreamingly staring at them.

'' So you like it? '' He asked hopefully.

Startled, she looked up at him as if she forgot he was still there. '' Y-Yeah, chocolate is my favorite and with strawberries.. that's just really delicious. '' Her cheeks flushed again and Sabo couldn't help but laugh in return.

'' Good! Because it's dark and it's time to stargaze. ''

Koala looked at the sky noticing it was indeed dark. '' I didn't pay attention to it. '' She muttered in response as he turned on a small lamp so they could see each other clearly.

The sky was full with stars which made it an astonishing sight and the light of the moon reflected in her eyes which made him gulp with what? Thirst or hunger? Probably both. If it didn't happen already, then he would gladly fall in love with her.

She leaned against him and he rested his arm on her shoulders. While she took a bite from a strawberry, he leaned forward and ate the rest of it, accidently touching her skin with his lips. It made her blush and he couldn't help but snicker.

'' Only snuggling right? '' She said playfully. Koala snuggled her face in his neck and looked up at the sky afterwards, still resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his other arm around her and stared at the dark sky too. '' It won't be cold tonight right? ''

He shook his head. '' No, it's actually pretty warm. Aren't you with that sweater on, under the blanket? '' He actually wanted to take off his but didn't want to give the wrong message by doing so. He was glad she started to ask about it, it would create a chance for him to do so. He guessed he was still being uncomfortable sometimes around her, afraid he might lose the chances he has with her.

Koala smiled at him as if she knew what he was thinking and he instantly blushed. '' I-I mean, you can take it off if you want, or switch to other clothes. I didn't mean that like you have to or for other stuff, I-I just.. '' He slapped his forehead with his hand. '' I'm being stupid, sorry.. '' Sighing, he took off his sweater, leaving him topless and looked at Koala if she was okay with it.

She laughed out loud however and somehow, he didn't remember her laughing out loud like that before. Was he managing in making her open up to him? He asked Nami about Koala. It turned out Koala really was an insecure girl who was scared and almost never really trusted anyone. It took Nami a year to make her open up to her. They became friends because of the Arlong-incident from which Sabo still didn't understand what the link between the two females was. Nami always tried to help the girl open up to people some more and was actually surprised to see Koala being so easy around Sabo. He was doing something good apparently and had to keep going like this. Which made him wonder what it was that made him so trustworthy for the girl.

She also took off her sweater, revealing a white top underneath it. '' Feels much better. '' She finally said. '' You weren't being stupid. It's part of what I find cute about you. ''

Unconsciously, because he really couldn't help himself, he touched her peachy cheeks and smiled. They were warm and soft and her face was really beautiful. He looked her in the eyes that had a beautiful blue color like rubies and silently cursed himself for giving off the wrong intention again.

'' I think only snuggling is going to be hard for me tonight. '' He simply stated. Normally he didn't say strange things like that, only when the alcohol was affecting him or when his sworn brothers were around, but he couldn't stop himself around Koala. It somehow felt like it wasn't wrong to say what he was thinking.

Koala let out a giggle and held his hand with hers, closing her eyes at his touch. Opening her eyes again, she turned around, now sitting sideways and in front of Sabo and leaned forward. '' What if I did this? '' She said with a soft voice and kissed his neck. It tickled and her lips felt warm and soft.

Giving it a short kiss, she looked up at him again questioningly. '' Let's make it count as snuggling. '' He answered, confirming he was okay with it.

She leaned in again and this time sucked a little on his neck. He breathed out and smiled. _Where did she get the experience?_ He thought subconsciously.

After a short while she touched his skin with her tongue that was warm and wet against his skin and actually licked him. He didn't mind and wanted her to continue but a flash of light appeared in the distance and Sabo recognized a man running off.

He firmly but gently pushed Koala away and told her to stay in the car. She immediately looked around and saw the man too.

'' Let me help you! '' She stated but Sabo shook his head and ran away. He knew that man. He wasn't even sure if he could call him a 'man'. He didn't want Koala to meet him. This was Sabo's business.

He sprinted towards the running figure and quickly caught up with the figure that ran out of breath and panted heavily while resting his hands on his knees.

'' STELLY! '' Sabo shouted while grabbing him by his collar. Before he could take the mobile where the man called Stelly was rummaging on he looked up, with sweat on his forehead, and smiled broadly.

'' Too late. '' He had a pipsqueak voice and a bob line haircut with very thick eyebrows. His smile wasn't normal, but a lasting sneer, as if he wasn't used to anything other than being a bully.

'' What do you mean too late?! '' Sabo asked angrily.

He let out his nasty laugh and tried to push Sabo away. '' I already posted it. ''

'' P-Posted? '' Sabo didn't really understand what he meant. Did he post the picture? He made a picture of the two of them and posted it. Sure, he didn't like that, but he expected something worse to be honest. '' What's your goal by doing that? '' He pushed Stelly, who was his 'adoptive brother' his father took in when Sabo ran away for the millionth time, and made him fall to the floor.

'' HOW DARE YOU- '' The pipsqueak man started but Sabo shut him by raising his hand.

'' What's your goal I asked. ''

'' What do you think? Embarrass you of course. '' He answered with his heavy accent.

'' How? By showing the college how she kissed my neck? It's a normal thing you know. Why don't you try living in the present? ''

And as if they were in a movie, Stelly responded. '' She didn't tell you, did she? '' His sneer was back on his face and he got up again, having dirt on his suede clothes.

Sabo was getting frustrated already and felt a throbbing starting in his head that would cause a headache for sure. '' What on earth is she supposed to tell me?! Spill it, no need for the secrecy stuff. '' He hated not knowing something that seemed to be of importance while this piece of trash did. '' Does this have anything to do with Father's threat? '' He asked cautiously, not sure why, but knowing Stelly wouldn't do anything without their father's permission.

'' You're getting close. '' He simply answered and made his way to the road. '' Ask her about this Fisher Tiger and you'll know. If she tells you that is. '' He raised his eyebrows daringly and walked away.

Sabo stayed quiet and had to calm himself first before making his way back to the car. He didn't want to look suspicious, nor was he planning to tell her about his messed up lineage. He wasn't sure how she would react if she knew..

Making his way back he saw Koala putting on her small boots and putting on her sweater again to approach Sabo. '' Koala, wait please. '' He started, but she already made her way towards him.

'' Who was that? What did he do? '' She asked with her eyes fixed on the man. She looked really serious all of the sudden, unlike before. The insecure girl seemed gone and this one.. He couldn't really read her. '' Sabo? '' She asked.

He snapped out of his train of thoughts and looked at the female. '' Someone who thought it would be great to make a picture for the social media, you know, like: 'couple goals' and such.. I got angry at him for not asking permission first.. '' He added the last because he wasn't sure what she saw or heard earlier.

'' Hm.. '' She answered which didn't give him any information on what she thought at all.

'' Hey, it's fine now, really. '' He removed a strand of hair from her face and pushed it back behind her ear.

Fisher Tiger.. He had to search that man up. He wasn't sure why, but he had a nagging feeling he knew this man from somewhere, he recognized the name..

She looked around the place and Sabo thought the darkness that engulfed them felt a bit creepy if they weren't in the car with their night lamp on so he took her hand and looked at her to see if she was okay with it.

She took his hand in response and followed him back to their little nest.

They didn't do much that evening. The reason was because Sabo wasn't really in the mood because of what happened earlier. And that very morning his father also threatened him.. He couldn't help but think Stelly had more intentions than only embarrassing Sabo. There had to be more. He wouldn't risk getting mud on his clothes for something as only publishing a picture on the internet. Come to think of it, he had to make sure it was a bluff. If it was really released, then who knows who might see it. Even if it was only Koala kissing his neck, people would still make all kinds of assumptions and judge her because of that. Not to mention that he was sure Stelly had another reason for doing so since he told him to ask Koala about that Fisher Tiger. The whole situation didn't sit well with him and started to make him worried.

The two watched a comedy movie with Cavendish being the main character in the story and snuggled against each other. Koala didn't seem to be too happy and glanced over at him a few times. It seemed like she had a worried glance but it could also be a form of rejection right? He knew he messed up that evening. Everything was going really well and she was opening up to him which felt like a real achievement for the man. It was an achievement for her too, he assumed since she was always so closed towards most people.

As soon as she fell asleep later on, cuddled up against his front, he unlocked his phone and apped Marco. Sabo knew he was Koala's mentor and her chaperon ever since she was little. He didn't know much about her, but Nami told him he could always call her or Marco in case something happened. He didn't know why she said that but this seemed like something Marco was the right person to ask for help about it. Marco also knew about Sabo's family, so it was okay for him to say the truth.

He told him a short summary of what happened earlier with his father and Stelly later on and hoped the pineapple would answer right away. Luckily he was online and typed a short answer: [ **Thank you for letting me know.** **Don't tell Koala in case she panics.]**

There it was. Just what was the reason for them to be so cautious when it was about Koala? Was that picture really that bad? He tried to open Facebook but there was a problem with the server. Frustrated for not getting any answers to _his_ questions he tried to get some sleep but was still worried someone might jump out of the bushes and do something to them. Everything around them was dark and Sabo didn't get much sleep that night because of that.

* * *

 **Koala:**

Even though they were interrupted and Sabo wasn't really that happy anymore afterwards, she still enjoyed their night together. It was nice to just cuddle, watch a movie and then fall asleep in his arms. She hadn't done it much before so it was nice for a change. She also talked more and allowed him to try and get closer to her. It was something she was rather proud of. Koala was planning to talk to Marco about this. She didn't really get it. Why did she manage to open up now? While so many people tried to make her open up to them before? Marco tried it so many times and yet she never managed to show him her true self. Ever since she was a kid she always gave him a hard time trying to get to know her as her mentor. She felt a bit guilty now and even though he told her he was glad to see her happy, she wanted to be able to show this side to more people.

As Sunday passed and Koala trained all day, the weekend flew by too quickly and soon enough it was Monday already. Walking through the front garden of the school a memory crossed her mind. She hadn't thought about it for a long time, but it was rather an important one to her.

'' _Hello there. Are you Koala? '' A brown haired man approached her and kneeled until he was at the same height as her._

'' _This is Thatch, Koala. He's one of my brothers. '' Marco, the man who took her in looked down at her, but all she did was hide behind his legs. She didn't want to be here. Sure, she ran away, but why did she have to live here? What was she supposed to say?_

 _As Marco explained who she was to his brother Thatch, she didn't try to look around. Her eyes were stinging, but she bit the inside of her cheek really hard so she didn't have to cry. She couldn't be weak now. Tears meant weakness. She had to stay strong and escape this place if possible._

 _Suddenly, Marco kneeled down and gently took her hands that held on to his pants very tightly. She started panting, not sure what to do or what this man was going to do to her._

'' _It's alright. You're safe here. '' He smiled at her and it did look like a gentle gesture, but she couldn't return it. She didn't want to force a smile on her face. It would remind her of her former masters._

 _Still biting the inside of her cheek not realizing she was really hurting herself with this, a salt and metal taste filled her mouth. Startled, she placed her small hands before her mouth, afraid he would see it and think she bit off her tongue, which of course wasn't the case._

'' _Hey ,what's wrong? '' he placed his hand on her arm but she didn't move and was still panting._

'' _She isn't going to talk, Marco. You need to give her time. '' An old and really strong looking man descended the stairs and smiled with his white moustache. '' You could say she's in a surviving state. ''_

'' _Because of what happened? I found her on the streets though. She couldn't have been running around for all these years right? '' Marco was talking about all the slaves that were freed by her uncle._

'' _I'll figure that out. She must be registered in the system. I'll see what I can do. For now, try to give her some space to discover the house herself. '' He ruffled through her hair with his hand which made her tense even more. '' And maybe some hot chocolate with marshmallows will work too, or are you going to keep biting that cheek of yours little girl? ''_

 _The biting didn't work anymore. Her eyes were still stinging and worse now. She couldn't hide it._

 _Marco realized what was happening and his eyes softened. '' You don't have to be afraid to cry yoi. '' He moved his hands to hers and slowly took them off her mouth. A small trace of blood was seen on her chapped lips. '' C'mon. No need to hurt yourself. '' He led her to the kitchen where another man was walking around with a young child, probably a toddler, sleeping in his arms. The man, at least, she thought it was a man, had make up on and was wearing the same sort of clothes her other uncle Jinbei always wore. He placed a finger on his mouth and walked to the living room._

'' _That was Izo. Another brother. '' He smiled at her and placed his hands under her armpits to pull her onto the counter. '' We have a big family. The child in his arms is called Haruta. Just like you, we found him on the streets, crying because he was lost. We tried to search for his parents, but turns out he was an orphan. '' He hesitated for a moment. '' Where did you come from? '' He asked while filling a glass with water._

 _The old man was now sitting on a chair, drinking something that smelled like the stuff her uncle's always drank. '' You don't have to answer if you don't want to. You can tell him to mind his own business if you want. '' He laughed loudly and Marco sighed._

'' _C'mon pops. '' Turning back to the girl, he took a spoon and asked: '' Can I at least take a look at your mouth? It looks like you gave yourself one nasty little wound. Quite the strong girl, aren't ya? ''_

 _That made her stir and look at him in the eyes. Strong? How was she strong? She was almost crying. That didn't mean she was strong, she was weak._

'' _I-I'm not.. '' She started mumbling, feeling the pain shooting through one side of her face._

 _He rested his hand on her cheek and encouraged her to open her mouth. When she did, he looked slightly pained. '' See? You can bear so much pain for all these years and still manage to hold back your tears yoi. We're all outcasts you know? ''_

'' _I had to stop him from hurting himself many times before. He was just as stubborn as you and some other brats running around in this house. '' He took a long draught from his drink and pointed at the stairs. Two boys were peeking through the door but ran away as soon as Koala turned her eyes towards them. '' Feel free to see this as home kid. You don't have to be afraid anymore. ''_

 _She didn't notice the tears did manage to escape her eyes and to try to hide it still, she placed her small fists before her eyes and allowed herself once more, just like her uncle managed to do, to cry freely._

Koala wasn't able to hold back a smile when thinking about it. It was really sudden she thought about it. Blaming the Monday morning, she saw Sabo laughing with Ace who was carrying Luffy on his back.

Sabo turned around and waved at her after telling the other one something. She walked over to them hesitantly, not sure what to say.

Before she could actually say anything, she was embraced in a hug. She smelled Sabo's odor and clothes that still smelled like washing powder and felt his warmth surge through her. '' Good morning miss. How are you? '' He greeted cheerfully.

She smiled and really didn't want to break apart but he let go nevertheless. He took her hand instead and looked at her for a moment. She didn't mind it at all and gladly took his hand.

'' 'Morning, Koala. '' Ace said grumpily.

'' Good morning. Why is Luffy still asleep? '' She asked curiously.

Ace sighed. '' He refused to sleep last night because of an online game and now he can't wake up for the upcoming hours. '' He smirked halfheartedly.

'' The teachers aren't going to like this. '' Sabo said.

'' Koala! '' Nami shouted from behind. She took Koala by her hand and pulled her with her.

Sabo didn't let go of Koala however and thus she was caught in between. '' Oi! What are you doing Nami? ''

'' Let go Sabo! She and I need to talk. '' She looked at Koala meaningfully.

Koala sighed and turned to the man. '' I'll see you later okay? '' He looked back, worried? And let go of her hand, only so Nami could pull Koala towards the building.

As they ran inside and to the classrooms Koala tried to ask what happened or what Nami wanted to talk about or why she even was in a rush. Classes wouldn't start in another twenty minutes, so they had time enough to talk right?

She knocked on the door of Marco's classroom. He opened and nodded. '' Morning ladies, come on in. Thank you from bringing her Nami. '' He smiled and held open the door.

Confused, Koala walked in. '' What's going on? ''

'' That's what he's going to explain now. '' Nami answered gently. Marco took place behind his desk and gestured for them to come closer. Opening his Facebook he went to Sabo's profile.

'' Alright, take a seat Koala. '' He knew she wouldn't sit down. Not until he told her what was going on.

Looking back stubbornly at the man, he sighed. '' Do you remember that flash when you and Sabo had your date? ''

She blushed startled, not expecting this. '' What did he do? '' She asked suspiciously.

He gestured at the chair and Nami looked at her skeptically telling her: _Sit down already._

Knowing she lost the fight, she sat down and listened to his explanation. '' That man was someone who is not very fond of Sabo. He hacked Sabo's account and posted a picture of you and him. ''

Koala gulped. She could guess what was shown on that picture. Her in only a top with shirtless Sabo while she sucked on his neck. '' You've seen that? '' She asked with a high voice.

'' Almost everyone has Koala. '' He raised his eyebrows at the embarrassed girl.

'' Who is almost everyone? ''

'' The school, Sabo's friends on Facebook. It has probably been released on other social media sites too depending on how many people find it interesting enough to let it go viral. ''

Marco wasn't the person to calm you down, smooth talk you out of stuff or even avoid explaining something because it would make the person panic even more. He was more of the straightforward type.

Koala panicked. '' B-But then.. W-Why would a picture of me kissing his neck go viral? What's so special about that? Sure, he's popular and I'm practically nothing but- ''

'' Hey! '' Nami replied offended. '' Don't you dare say you're worth nothing Koala! ''

'' B-But.. '' Koala tried, knowing very well there was no going against the Ice Queen. She turned her attention to Marco. '' Show me the picture. ''

'' I already took it off Facebook but others have downloaded it or made screenshots for proof it was posted on Sabo's profile. ''

Sabo didn't show any sign of knowing this earlier. He greeted her so happily and that hug.. Why?

'' A girl named Ranya was one of them and posted the screenshot everywhere. '' He scrolled down the profile and she saw the girl Ranya having tagged Sabo and Koala in the picture. Koala didn't check her Facebook yesterday.. She was training and thought she wouldn't get any notifications. She took her phone out of her backpack and saw she actually did have several messages. Sabo didn't app her however.. Only other curious people wanting to know more about her. She didn't want to open these notifications, scared for what they might say.

Koala turned back to the laptop screen and saw a full width HD picture of her kissing Sabo's neck. They were supposed to be young adults for god's sake and here people all over the internet shared it and judged the two in it.

But that was not all.

Now realizing why Marco and Nami specifically wanted to explain it to her, her hands started shaking out of fear.

'' Koala.. '' Nami said gently and took the phone out of her hands. Holding them, she looked at the girl worried.

It was the mark. The top of the Sun mark on her back was shown.

* * *

 **Answers:**

 **LittlemissTraffy: Thank you so much haha, I hope I can satisfy you with the final chapters! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: The story will quickly progress into the final part/climax of the story. This part is very dark and full with angst. Traumatic events will be described in detail. (I'm giving this warning because some people might appreciate it haha) I'm not a nice person as you may find out on this chappie hehe**

 **(Reviews will be answered at the end of the chapter)**

 **Enjoy ^^**

* * *

 **Koala:**

'' Don't fucking tell me to calm down! '' Koala said with a high-pitched voice. How was she supposed to calm down? She wasn't going to calm down.

'' It's only the top of the sun that's shown and even that's not very clear. They'd have to really concentrate to see it and come up with the idea of it being a sun. ''

'' You of all people wouldn't call me here for a private conversation if it wasn't that worrisome Marco! ''

'' I wanted to make sure you wouldn't panic as you are doing right now. I was sure it would be better to tell you right away myself so you wouldn't have to hear it from unwanted people. ''

Koala's arms were still shaking. Her mind was one big fuzzy cloud as she didn't know what to do or think of this. The mark was very clear to her, maybe because it was on her own body, but still.. The top triangle was visible.. People would easily make assumptions about that and the kissing.. She didn't notice it before but Sabo didn't look very charming himself, or maybe he did because it made her blush. He had his eyes closed, a light blush on his cheeks and his hand was under her top, which Koala didn't even realize before. He looked like he wanted to do more..

'' What about Sabo then? He acted so normal as if nothing happened at all. It is his account! Why is he so calm about this? '' She asked helplessly.

'' He isn't calm at all. He has been panicking all day yesterday scared for what would happen. I asked him not to say anything until I talked to you. ''

That still didn't take away he was able to act so normal. Koala couldn't help but be so cautious and suspicious about everything and everyone right now. She didn't want to go back to that time.

'' M-Marco.. '' She muttered with a desperate look in her eyes.

He moved closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulders which made her remember the time he found her on the streets when she was still only a child. '' I want to ask from you to come directly to me whenever something happens or whenever you feel like you can't handle a situation anymore. Please Koala, I know this is all really hard for you, but I can only help you if you allow me to. '' He looked at her uncertain.

She managed to nod as a lump formed in her throat and couldn't bring out any proper words.

'' Alright. '' He sighed. '' You still have ten minutes until class, you can leave the bags here and get some fresh air. Koala? '' He asked as she wasn't listening to his words at all. Her mind was nagging her with all kinds of worries, problems, memories and fears that might come true. Nothing could reassure her at this point.

'' C'mon, we're going outside. '' Nami stated, dragging the girl with her, knowing she wouldn't come otherwise. She glanced over to Marco worried.

'' I'll be in my office. '' He finally said taking his empty cup and phone.

The girls walked outside to the garden where most students were gathered before the first class would start. Nami ran over to her friends Vivi and Perona as Koala slowly walked behind her.

'' There she is! '' The annoying voice of the girl called Ranya screeched. Koala turned around still in a daze as her mind said: _See? It's not going to be alright._

She was with two of her friends on either side one and acted as If she was in one of the IT-girls movies. '' Enjoyed your Saturday night I see? It's funny how Sabo actually posted the pic. I wonder who took it? Or was it a threesome? '' She walked closer to Koala but the girl didn't change her expression nor reveal what she was thinking. Because in fact, she was panicking even more than before.

Her nerves acted up and her hands wanted to shake again, though, Koala clutched them to her bag as tightly as possible to prevent them from showing it to the others. She learned to ignore bullies in High School, but this was different. This wasn't simply just about Koala. This time someone else was involved, someone popular in fact, and her mind kept on warning her people would see the mark.

'' What would someone with a noble status want with a piece of trash like you? '' Ranya continued coldly. Sneering, she said something else that struck Koala like lightning. '' But I can guess why. Did he pay you? ''

She acted as if she gasped. '' Oh, but wait! Of course he didn't pay you. Slaves don't get paid, do they? '' Koala's eyes widened as her stomach clenched itself and her mind went cloudy and fuzzy, refusing to help her.

People around her gathered and whispered. _Slave?_ That was something no one spoke of, unless the Government started about it and that was almost never the case. Her brain literally short-circuited and made her do something she didn't have to do for many years. As her eyes were wide open with fear, a smile crept up her face and Koala answered: '' I am very sorry if it troubled you, please forgive me. ''

With that, Ranya looked disgusted at her and shouted: '' Creep! ''

Ranya didn't get a chance to say anything else as she received a punch in her face. Koala heard her nose breaking as Nami panted slightly with her fist held in the air. '' Shut the fuck up bitch! Stop judging people so easily as if you're the queen here! '' She yelled furiously.

At the entrance of the building, Robin opened the door and urged Ranya and her friends to go to the principal's office. They were furious and didn't understand why they had to go while Nami was the one who punched her.

Robin looked skeptically at Nami, unable to process the thought of Nami not being as ladylike as Robin would have wanted her to be and held on to Koala's arm.

She wanted to get away from here. She didn't want to be here. She couldn't calm down or listen to people in this state. Why didn't they understand that?

She looked Robin in the eyes and eventually the teacher let her go. She sprinted towards the teachers' offices, passing Ranya and the other girls and rushed over to Marco's office.

Opening the door and closing it, without knocking, she let her feelings run free and panic, sadness and shock washed over her body. Koala started crying loudly, having held back many memories and feelings the past few weeks and was met with a warm embrace from Marco who let her cry freely, not saying anything at all.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

At the time the incident in the garden happened, Sabo was still with Ace and Luffy at the front side of the building. He didn't know what happened and had to hear from Nami afterwards. She was furious Ranya managed to scare Koala and not just scare her. She explained Ranya said some terrible stuff that really terrified her and should've stayed a secret at all costs. After that, Koala ran inside and Robin followed the three girls to the headmaster's office. Nami had to come too so she couldn't explain everything to him.

Everything happened kind of fast and Sabo had many loose ties in his mind about Koala now. They were mostly assumptions and he didn't want to draw conclusions, but he had a pretty good idea now what happened to the girl that made her this traumatized about everything in her life.

As he approached Vivi, one of Nami's friends, she gave him a full explanation. Sabo couldn't face Koala now. It was simply over. If Ranya somehow found out about Sabo's lineage and made all these students hear about it..

He realized this is what his father and Stelly meant. They planned all this to make Sabo feel miserable. And to make matters worse, or at least draw Sabo into a corner, Ranya accused Koala of being a slave. That was mainly what Sabo was afraid would happen. After Saturday night he couldn't help but search this Fisher Tiger up and found out what happened years ago. When he saw the picture of him and Koala, he noticed the triangle sticking out of her top on her skin. That made his mind go haywire. He knew it couldn't be anything else, but he didn't want to believe it.

How could he expect her to act normal around him from now on if he was from a lineage that abused, forced and tortured her when she was only a child? Not to mention this incident really made her panic, and judging from what Vivi told him.. Her smile and apology, many people saw it as a comeback or burn, but Nami looked at Koala really worried and slightly shocked.

The bell rang and the students slowly made their way to the classrooms while glancing over to the three brothers.

'' You're not going. '' Ace stated angrily.

'' They know about Koala. I can't get her involved because of my family problems. ''

He laughed sarcastically. '' This isn't just about your family problems Sabo. Everyone's involved. We've all been involved ever since pops started this business. ''

'' Business? Look, right now, I need to solve this thing- ''

'' You can't simply solve this Sabo. And definitely not on your own. If they know about Koala then what is holding them back to inform the Government? Once the Government knows then we're all in trouble, especially pops. '' Ace wasn't the type to hold back when telling you the hard truth, no matter how painful it might be. Sabo knew he was right, but all Sabo wanted was to lead his own life. Did it really have to be so complicated? Call him selfish, but he was tired of having to fight like this.

'' Let's go to class. We can't do much now anyway. I'm sorry Vivi and Perona, could you take over Luffy from me? He's in your class after all. ''

'' Sure. '' Vivi answered with a worried look and wrapped her arm around his waist while holding onto his arm that was wrapped around her shoulder.

Perona scoffed but helped her nevertheless and thus they walked away to the classroom.

Sabo ignored them all while trying to think of a way to handle this situation. It was confusing and impossible to think of a proper way to get out of this.

Ace massaged his own shoulders and urged Sabo to come with him. '' Leave it to pops Sabo, really. We've had worse stuff to deal with. '' Again, the dreading thought of feeling left out in the family entered his mind.

* * *

 **Koala:**

Even though the bell rang a minute ago Marco was still holding her. It was reassuring to have him be there for her even though no words were said. But that was all to be honest. She wasn't back to her old self. Her mind felt empty, her body showed her fear and her eyes revealed she wasn't thinking anything.

Koala had a headache because of all the tears. '' I-I'm going home.. '' She whispered with a muffled voice in his shirt.

'' Sure. I'll handle everything here okay? '' He answered gently. She knew he wasn't going to ask her how she was doing now. He knew better than that.

They broke apart and Marco took her face in his hands. '' Just as Izo said, we won't let anyone hurt you. You're going to lead that free life you wished for, do you understand Koala? '' He asked with a serious look.

Koala nodded, it didn't look really normal because her face was trapped in his hands, but he got the message.

'' Good. You can use the teacher's bathroom if you need it and I'll bring your backpack in a minute okay? ''

She nodded again and walked to the bathroom across the hallway. She washed her face, which removed her make up completely, since half of it was already on Marco's shirt and took a few deep breaths while biting the inside of her cheek to stop the urge to cry. When she managed to calm down enough to go back to his office, she found her backpack there with a note to call him when she was home.

In a daze, Koala took it and made her way home.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

Marco had a tough time trying to answer all the questions all the students had and the same went for Robin. Sabo didn't get why they were all so curious about the situation just so they would have juicy gossips to tell each other. Again, he was surprised by how childish everyone still was in college. He couldn't wait until he was finished with it and could start his own career.

Sabo completely ignored the questions he received from his fellow students. He couldn't care less about them. He didn't even understand why he was still at school. How was uncle Edward even going to solve this? Didn't the three brothers normally solve everything themselves and rush into battle whenever they could? What happened to that?

He hesitated whether to send Koala a message or not. He thought it would be a bad idea considering what just happened. She didn't come to class and Marco explained she wouldn't follow the other classes for the day either.

After the class ended Sabo approached his teacher. '' How is she? ''

Marco rubbed his temples after he placed the glasses on his desk. '' Honestly? I have no idea. I can never tell when it comes to her. She was really upset. '' Sabo knew Marco was holding back a lot.

'' How traumatized is she? '' He demanded. He didn't care whether Marco was tired after being interrogated by the students. Sabo really wanted some answers himself now.

'' Traumatized? What do you mean by that Sabo? '' He asked tiredly.

'' You know what I mean. Ranya somehow figured it out, didn't she? Did someone tell her? Koala is a former slave, isn't she? '' He fired the questions at the man, unconsciously taking out his stress on him.

'' Just let me call her first. She promised to call me after she got home, but it's been roughly an hour now. '' He took out his phone and dialed her number. After what seemed minutes he hung up and looked thoughtful. Then, he dialed another. This time, Jinbei answered.

'' Hey boss. Is Koala home? … Hm … Alright, I'll call around too. Thank you. '' Sighing deeply, he dialed yet another number.

'' Are you going to tell me what's going on yet? '' Sabo asked worried.

'' Wait. '' Marco simply answered, slowly losing his patience.

A dreading thought filled Sabo's mind. Why didn't she go home? Where was she?

'' Izo, I need you to find Koala, immediately .. She isn't … You know her, who knows what she's up to in this state … Okay. ''

Sabo's stomach started to feel heavy. '' Where is she? '' He asked quietly not sure whether he crossed a line yet or not.

Marco looked at him with gentle eyes. '' I have no idea. I wish I could reassure you, but I'm starting to regret to let her go home on her own. ''

'' Can you please explain to me now what on earth is going on here? ''

Ace and Nami entered the room and silently listened to Marco. '' Koala is still traumatized about what happened to her back then and according to Law, her doctor, or rather the family's doctor, she wouldn't heal from it either. It's.. ''  
He struggled for a moment to find the right words. '' It's like a trigger. As soon as she encounters a noble or hears their name, she'll panic. If her emotional state is high, with other words, everything is becoming too much for her, then there is no telling what she will do. She said once there was this voice in her mind that told her what to do. It changed her way of thinking completely. Don't speak to her about this however, she still has a hard time explaining this to even Jinbei, let alone me or Law. ''  
He stayed quiet for a few seconds and continued. '' When she was with those nobles, she could only think in a survival kind of way. All she could think of was to please her masters, never show weakness and make sure they wouldn't punish her. '' He didn't say anything else anymore and when further explanation wasn't coming, Sabo didn't know what to answer himself.

'' And this is one of these moments? '' Ace asked. It was amazing how he could remain calm in this kind of situation while he was normally the one to let his stress run free.

Marco nodded in response and Sabo noticed he eyed really tired now.

'' So what's the plan? '' Ace asked again.

'' You three are going to attend the rest of the classes today. ''

Nami stepped forward offended. '' You can't be serious! ''

'' I am serious, Nami. Do you want even more rumors to go around in this school? ''

'' I don't care about stupid rumors. I want to see Koala. '' She stated, still offended.

'' Ace, I need you to take care of everything here. Izo is handling Koala and pops is going to see what he can do about this situation too. We need to figure out how much the Government knows about this situation. Can I trust you'll keep everyone at bay here? '' Marco continued, ignoring Nami.

Ace eyed him with his grumpy look for a moment and eventually nodded. '' Leave that to me. ''

'' What about my parents? You can't stop me for going after them Marco. '' Sabo wasn't going to let them ruin more of his life.

'' I know, but for now I'd like to concentrate on finding her. '' Marco tried to call Koala once again and stood up afterwards. '' I'm off. Try not to do anything rash Sabo. ''

''Marco? '' Ace asked suspiciously.

'' Hm? ''

'' What is that black stuff on your shirt? '' He raised an eyebrow.

'' Oh, mascara. ''

'' What on earth is mascara doing on your shirt? '' Ace now asked offended.

'' It's Koala's.. ''

'' Oh.. Alright.. '' Ace answered quietly.

Marco walked out of the classroom and was on his way to wherever he planned on searching for her. Sabo was grounded on school ground and couldn't even do anything to help. It was really frustrating to sit through classes. He couldn't concentrate at all and at some point his mind wandered off.

Crazily enough, a strange daydream filled his mind. It wasn't a memory, nor something Sabo ever thought of and yet it was there.

 _Sabo was a boy and he was on a small ship. Grinning happily, he sailed out of port onto the sea. There was something strange about this… What was it? A vision? Or was this really just a daydream and his brain was messing with him?_

 _The strange thing was, that he wasn't the boy Sabo himself, but him, the adult version, was standing on the shore watching the boy leave. It was a small ship, a fisher's ship. It had a small white sail and a jolly roger. The letter S covered the black jolly in blue with crossbones behind it. The boy was happily steering the ship and not listening to the warnings the civilians were giving him._

 _Why were they warning him? Looking around, Sabo noticed a huge ship from the Government sailing right before him. Not being able to hold himself back, adult Sabo started to scream. '' GET OUT OF THERE! '' He warned along with the other civilians. The boy noticed the ship, as he was hardly able to miss and sailed to the right._

 _Relief washed over all of them. Now he could sail out._

 _He was free._

 _Sabo didn't know why that thought crossed his mind and neither did he have the time to think about it as a weird looking man with an astronaut's suit it seemed shot the small ship with a huge gun. A blast and fire followed which made Sabo want to hurl over._

 _They shot a child to death and somehow, Sabo knew the boy's freedom was no more._

A hand on his shoulder made him jump from his seat. '' W-What? '' He asked, meeting Ace's eyes.

'' You alright? Classes are over man. '' Ace replied with a worried look.

'' O-Of course not. '' He muttered in return. Why did he dream such a weird thing? '' Classes are over? Can I go to my parents now? I can't stand this anymore Ace. '' He started whispering, not wanting to let others hear his insecurities.

Ace gave him a skeptical look and squeezed in his shoulder. '' Go. If you find Koala on the way, please let Marco know. ''

Sabo was starting to get seriously worried here. If he could judge from what Marco said, then was it really safe for her to go out alone in such a state? Wasn't that asking for trouble? '' She still hasn't been found? ''

Ace shook his head.

Not yet feeling the energy to go, Sabo sat down in his chair. '' Why did everything happen so fast? I barely know her and yet it felt so good to manage to make her open up to me and now Stelly and my parents managed to ruin it once again. In only a few days.. '' He ran his hand through his hair and rested his head in his arms. '' I'm done with this. ''

* * *

 **Koala:**

Koala had been walking around for hours, not knowing where she was or what she was doing. All she did was listen to her mind telling her what to do and what to feel. She tried to resist it in the beginning, but it was so tiring and tempting to just give up and go along with it. It wouldn't go away, so why resist it?

She didn't hear the phone ringing over and over again in her bag, nor did she even think of taking it out.

Passing houses, pedestrians and endless fields of grass Koala kept on going forward staring into nothingness.

At some point she walked on a field of grass as a big house slowly got bigger. It was white and somehow, she had the feeling she knew this house. Was it a déjà-vu? She couldn't place her finger on it, but something told her she should know this house.

Going forward, Koala knew her path was ending, so she probably would have to turn around. Her body, or rather her mind, wasn't listening to her. _You know this place. You've seen it in a dream_ , her mind said.

Why would she? What was the purpose? Koala felt miserable. She started to recognize feelings she didn't have to worry about for years. What was happening to her?

As the house grew bigger, she saw more and more details. _It's different from the dream_ , she thought. A limousine was parked in front, a huge garden stretched out over the place. How did Koala end up all the way here? Where was she anyway?

Her train of thoughts were short however and a voice that resembled Ranya's talked to her. _Because you're a creep. A non-human existence._

Koala knew that wasn't true, but it was hard to fight against these thoughts. All these years after having had that stupid therapy and now it came back and took over so easily. She tried to remember what the doctor taught her. She couldn't come up with the measures to block her mind and panicked. What was she supposed to do now?

She had to turn around and go back home like Marco told her to do so.

 _Why?_ The voice said.. _It's over. They know who you truly are. Walk forward_. Koala gulped. If she didn't walk forward and turned around, would something bad happen? _Of course. The Government will kill you. Walk forward and survive. Easy._ It wasn't easy. Somehow this felt like an important decision to make and the doctor told her the voice wasn't a person. No matter what the voice said, it wasn't true. She didn't have to listen. But she was scared. The students knew now who she was and Sabo probably did too.

Sabo.. He was a noble..

 _See? He made you do whatever he wanted so easily._

Koala hated this. She was going mad. The doctor ensured her it wasn't something to be embarrassed about but hearing voices in your mind.. That was definitely not normal. It was crazy. What would Sabo do if he heard that?

She couldn't help it having these traumatic stuff going on because of what happened in the past. It was so infuriating and depressing.

Before she could make a decision to walk forward or going back a man stepped out of the limousine. Had he been in there the entire time?

Koala recognized him immediately as a noble. She was at the wrong place after all. She shouldn't be here.

Making the decision gave her a headache and made her feel terrified because she was going against what the voice told her to do, but she did it. She turned around and started to walk back to where she came from. She would figure out where she was once she'd encounter a shop or something.

'' You're that girl from the picture. '' The man spoke with a heavy accent.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

'' Be careful. I wish I could go with you, but please Sabo, just this once. I know it's your decision, but don't go back to them. Just promise me that. '' Ace pleaded.

Sabo didn't know how he should stop this and he didn't want to go back obviously. If this was what his parents wanted by trying to embarrass him and making his life a hell, then they were doing a good job.

He had once this crazy thought. What if he did take over the family business, sold it and did whatever he wanted with the money he received in return? He would buy Luffy a ship with an old fashioned telescope and give Ace the best garage possible. Sabo would travel the world and write books.

He knew it wouldn't be so easy to achieve that. Neither would he feel proud. It would mean he didn't fight for it and doing it out of greed and revenge instead of through hard work.

If there was one thing his brothers showed him, then that was the process was more important than the final goal. As long as you fought for it, then everything would be fine.

This situation was the same. Sabo had to fight for his own rights. He didn't want to stand in his parents' shadows any longer.

Sabo nodded at his freckled brother and gave him a tight hug before they parted. As he made his way out of the school he turned to the blue sky and bright sun.

After he solved the problems with his parents, he would definitely help search for Koala, tell her how he felt and build up a proper relationship with her.

He finally managed to admit it after Saturday. He was falling in love with her and he wasn't going to give that up either. Even if she used to being a slave and he was a noble, he would at least tell her how he felt. What she would do in the end, was up to her. At least he would know he did his best.

He borrowed Ace's car and drove to the Noble's small closed district. They had a small one in every town and an entire province for them alone called MarieJoa. The district in this city Baltigo was where Sabo's parents had their second house. They used to come here because his father had to make deals oversea and this city had the best port in the country.

After driving for twenty minutes he reached the big empty place where they had their own ground. Sabo could hear the sea rummage a little farther away as the wind blew through the late summer grass. He walked over the stone path that was directly connected to their garden.

Seeing the big white house show up in the distance, he didn't feel any nostalgia or warmth towards it. It only caused him trouble. He spent so many days on the roof during the nights he was supposed to stay in his room and study. The starry sky was his joy and warmth. Nothing inside that house was able to make him happy.

He arrived at the garden and opened the fence. At first, he didn't see anyone which was self explanatory since only three people lived in that giant villa and a few employees that took care of the household.

He looked around and noticed the fountain with a small human statue where water came out of its hands. There were exotic flowers everywhere, perfectly cut bushes and several places where one could sit and relax. Not that there was anything relaxing in this household.

His phone vibrated and Sabo didn't want to pick up at first. Deciding it might turn out to be a good idea after all, he took it out and saw it was a private number.

Because he was curious, he switched the green button. '' Hello? '' He asked cautiously.

'' It's me, Sabo. '' His father's voice spoke.

'' Father. '' Sabo sighed deeply. '' I'm here. We need to talk. This can't go on like this any longer. ''

'' Good. '' He answered after staying quiet for a few seconds. '' You should be able to see me then. '' With that, he hung up.

Sabo looked around again, a nervous feeling entering his stomach. Where was he? He took a few steps forward and saw two figures. A few bushes prevented Sabo from seeing the scene at first, so walking forward made him realize who the two people were.

One was his father. He stood with one hand forming a fist regularly and the other reaching inside his pocket.

The other figure was Koala. She was kneeling with her hands placed before her on the ground and Sabo couldn't make out her expression since her forehead was placed on the ground too.

What was she doing here? '' So this was what you wanted? '' Sabo finally asked angrily. '' You lured her here only to get to me? What was the point of that? ''

His father turned around and shook his head. '' Oh no, I didn't lure her here at all. She was already standing in front of the garden when I came back home. ''

Sabo didn't understand. So it was his own fault after all. Did his parents enjoy making his life a hell so much? Why did they involve her?

'' Koala? '' He asked hesitantly, expecting her to give a reaction. She didn't however and kept on bowing towards his father.

Sabo didn't want her to do this. '' What did you do with her? ''

His father sighed impatiently. '' Do you really think a slave can recover? Why do you think we refuse to call them humans? They have no human sense left. She's broken. Empty. Probably not even good enough for being a slave any longer. ''

Before Sabo could reach to him and scream out in anger, his father continued. '' Why don't we try it? ''

He turned back to Koala, giving her his full attention. '' Koala. This is your new master. Show him your respect. ''

Koala stirred and for a moment nothing happened at all.

But then.. She actually stood up, without stopping with bowing and made a few steps towards Sabo.

Without looking at him, she kneeled down again and spoke with a wavering voice. '' My name is Koala, unworthy of your service. I'll do anything you want, so please don't punish me. '' She looked up and what she did next made him so sad.. It made him want to cry.

She eyed terrified, yet her eyes were empty. Nothing but fear was shown in them. She had a big smile on her face, a forced one.

A lump formed in his throat as a nagging thought occurred to him. She didn't recognize him at all.

* * *

oops, cliffhanger :x

 **Answers:**

 **Ezaria** : I'll let you in on a secret: I thought of you when I wrote Ace without a t-shirt :o You're welcome hehe. And about Koala not being a virgin anymore: There will be a small part about it that explains it haha.

 **DarkShdowDreams** : haha I'm glad you like and I hope I'll make you love the story even more by the end! Or rather: Hate me, for what I did in this one hehe

 **LittlemissTraffy** : I'm glad you mentioned the 'Ranya and Stelly being perfect for each other' part, because I didn't mention it on purpose to leave some of the reasons to the readers' imaginations. Stelly paid Ranya to do this. She's trying to get a higher status in the country.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yoo~ And we're almost reaching the end! One more chapter to go after this and then I will start writing City of Lost Dreams 2 which will be centered around AcexMarco. Hint: The things that will happen there are a lot more complicated as many more factors play a role. You can see this one (SaboAla) as a prequel haha**

 **(Reviews will be answered at the end of the chapter)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Koala:**

She knew this man. She knew him and yet her mind wouldn't accept him. He was a noble. His father clearly told her this man was her master now. If she didn't do as he told her he would punish her. She already received punishment a few minutes ago. Another one would be her death.

He gave her a strange look. Was he dissatisfied? Did she do something wrong? Maybe he saw some weakness in her? She was smiling right? Crying meant weakness. She couldn't afford to do that. She had to keep smiling just like her mind told her to do. It was the only way to survive. Please the masters was her job since there was no way out of this anyway.

He called her by her name. Koala. He was angry at his father. Maybe Koala wasn't good enough to be a slave. Maybe he would punish her now.

Fear tried to enter her body once more, but she pushed it away. She lowered her gaze again and fixed her eyes on the ground.

They hurt. She wasn't used anymore to keeping them open for a longer period of time. Blinking also meant weakness. Maybe they wanted her to clean up?

She looked around for a lap and when she couldn't find something to clean with, she wanted to rip a part of her blouse.

Hands held hers before she could touch her clothes. She looked up and met with sea blue eyes, one paler than the other. She remembered these eyes looking at her while they shared a bed. Pushing away the feeling that wanted to enter her stomach since she was a slave that specialized in cleaning and not pleasuring the masters, she immediately looked down and stared at their hands instead.

That didn't work either. She remembered them holding her, holding her face, hands, waist and.. her breasts. Koala didn't want to feel this. It was wrong. She wasn't worth that.

'' M-Mas..- ''

'' Don't. '' He whispered. He was kneeling down, making his pants dirty because of the grass. She should clean that too as soon as possible. '' You're my equal Koala. I'm not a noble. ''

He took her hands in his and caressed them with his thumbs. It made her remember when he showed her the neighborhood he lived in. Didn't he live in this house? It confused Koala as two different memories tried to take over. He managed to make her talk to him so easily, pleasure her which was supposed to be wrong and yet so gentle. He was a noble.. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Koala started breathing more heavily as she tried to keep away the emotions that tried to build up inside her.

'' Why are you doing this to yourself, Koala? '' He whispered again.

 _I don't know you_ , she thought miserably. What did his father think? Was he okay with this?

When she didn't answer he let go of her hands and held her face with one instead. He caressed her cheekbone for a few seconds and then brought her face close to his. He hugged her and let her face rest in the crook of his neck.

She was met with a smell she came to love, the regular and heavy breathing as his chest went up and down, his warm and soft hands that held her firmly and that gentle nature.. He was so gentle. She had never seen a noble who was like this before.

They were all cold and inhuman as they thought they were some sort of gods.

Koala felt guilty for thinking like that. The masters would know if the slaves thought in a mean way about them. She was definitely going to receive punishment now.

She didn't answer the hug, she only listened to him speak to his father not knowing what to think of this man because he managed to make her feel things she wasn't supposed to feel as a slave, think of desires only humans were allowed to have and crave for something impossible: Freedom.

He moved his arm and rested his hand on her back. Her mark of the Celestial Dragons was there. She didn't like it when people touched it. It made her remember the pain she felt when they burned it in her. Somehow, she also had another memory. It was a memory of a second time another mark replaced the old one.

'' Fisher Tiger gave you the mark of the sun. The mark of freedom. You owe nothing to my father or me, Koala. '' He whispered in her ear.

More memories filled her mind about her time with her uncles, when Jinbei found her at Marco's place and adopted her, when she and Nami hugged each other crying after they found out about each other's pasts and how Izo promised her no one would hurt her ever again. Her eyes stung but it still wasn't enough for her to start crying. Koala was confused, very confused and was scared. Not of this man called Sabo, but she was scared of his father.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

'' What is the meaning of this, Sabo? '' His father spoke with a cold voice.

He wasn't paying attention to him at all. All he could think of was how things came to this. It was his fault Koala had to go through this now. She was starting to trust Nami, Marco, Izo and Ace. She had a father-daughter bond with Jinbei and was close with the other Sun members. But she would have to start all over again if they got out of this safely.

If they got out of this safely. How was he supposed to get out of this situation indeed?

His father had him. He managed to do something that was beyond crossing a line. This was the last thing Sabo wanted.

Outlook already threatened Sabo once with killing his brothers and back then uncle Edward was there to save the day and prevent Sabo from having to go back.

But now.. Now he had to find a solution himself. If he did what his father wanted him to do, then that meant he had to leave Koala behind and he couldn't have that. He could call Marco, but how long would it take for him to get here? Anything could happen meanwhile.

At the moment he couldn't think of another solution. He promised Ace to come back and he was sure Koala wouldn't like it either if he chose to stay here. Not that she would ever want to build up a relationship with him anyway.. He couldn't see why she would still want him after his father did this to her.

'' The meaning of this? '' He asked with a furious voice in return. '' Finally achieved your goal eh? ''

Koala was completely tense. Her muscles were all hard and she didn't move at all. Normally, a person did move their chest at least in order to breath, but Koala didn't move anything at all. She was like this porcelain puppet. While her body was completely tense, he also thought she was very fragile. He was afraid he could break her very easily if he squeezed her even only a bit harder. He knew that wasn't possible, but it was something he worried about. And it wasn't only her body. She seemed to have completely gone back to the time she thought she was a slave. Koala managed to switch her way of thinking because she thought she had to survive. Now he understood what Marco was trying to explain.

Sabo knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to let her suffer from this any longer. He wasn't going to drag her down with him. He would at least get her out of this.

He thought of the time uncle Edward threatened Sabo's father. Outlook was terrified of him. Sabo knew one weakness all the nobles had and that was their reputation. What if the country knew about Sabo's mischief? His father would never be able to build up his reputation again. He'd be the shame of the Noble class.

Uncle Edward reminded him of that.. Maybe Sabo could use it this time too? He was nearly not as intimidating as the old man people called Whitebeard, but it was worth a shot.

'' And now? '' Sabo continued, not waiting for an answer. '' What are you going to do now? Brag about how you too have a slave to clean up your pigsty? Are you going to renounce me as your rightful heir? Expect me to stay quiet about all of this? Do you realize what you did? Do you really think you'll get away with this? With uncle Edward's help I could crush you so easily. '' Sabo spit out the words as if they hurt his tongue. He was full with anger, making sure at the same time he wouldn't hurt Koala.

'' I could make it known you mentally abused an innocent person. I could make it known I used to be a noble because I'm sure as hell never going to be one, whether you force me too or not dear Father. '' His smile didn't reach his eyes, nor did he mean it. He was finally saying the words he repeated over and over again in his mind for years.

'' I could ruin everything for you, piece by piece, just like you did with me. Did you know this girl is under Edward Newgate's protection? A member of Sun and used to receive therapy from Trafalgar Law? Adoptive son of Donquixote Rocinante? You were quite the foolish man this time, weren't you? '' He knew it was low to threaten with famous names, but it was the only way for him right now. It was either this or completely giving up and do as his father ordered him to.

'' You dare to talk to me like that? '' Outlook quietly answered.

Sabo let out sarcastic laugh. '' Dare? From who did I inherit this from eh? So what will it be? Let me go, stay quiet about this matter and let you live your happy life or continue until I call uncle Edward here to make sure my threat gets through that thick skull of yours? ''

Sabo hoped this would work. Outlook would try something else later on. He never left Sabo alone but he had to get out of here first for Koala's sake.

Outlook's face was dark red now, sweat dripping from his forehead and panting heavily with anger. Sabo waited for a while but when an answer didn't come, he took it as a choice his father made.

Gently, he wrapped one arm around Koala's back and arm and the other under her knees. As he held her in his arms, he stood up and slowly walked out of the garden without looking back at his father.

For now, it was over and when he was far enough to let down his guard a bit he looked sideways to Koala. She was still holding her eyes wide open but her smile was wavering as if she wasn't sure what to do any longer. She didn't resist either when he picked her up.

He didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or not and decided to wait just a bit longer until he arrived at the car so he could call Marco.

The mental strain was starting to show itself but he held it back. He couldn't afford to be weak now. He had to hold on just a bit longer until he was sure she was safe.

The sun was slowly going down and the sea was calm but Sabo didn't pay attention to it as Ace's car showed up ahead.

He walked faster and reached it. He slowly put Koala's legs on the ground so he could take out his keys and open the car.

Holding the door open, he helped Koala inside. She didn't show resistance.. She didn't show anything at all. Only the confused and pained look on her face.

He gulped and took out his phone.

After searching for Marco's name, he dialed his number. '' Marco? ''

'' Yeah? '' He answered and sounded rushed.

'' I found her. Where do you want me to take her? ''

'' How is she? ''

How she was? He wasn't sure. It was definitely nowhere near good. '' I-I.. '' He stuttered not knowing what to answer.

Stupidly enough, his eyes started stinging and he had to take a deep breath to force the tears down. What was wrong with him all of the sudden?

'' Bring her to Law's place. We'll meet up there. '' Marco hung up and Sabo quickly started the car and drove to the other side of the city.

Once there, Law was already holding open the door and approached them. He opened the passenger's door and after a quick look, he sighed. '' Where was she? '' He started as a greeting.

Sabo shook his head miserably, not being able to hold back all the emotions that gathered inside him any longer. He rested his head on the steering wheel and refused to show his face.

Law helped Koala inside and all Sabo could think of was the guilt that took over his mind.

* * *

 **Koala:**

She tried to find a logical reason during the ride but couldn't find one. Everything was messed up. There was no logic any longer. What was she supposed to do?

She remembered the day uncle Tiger burned the mark of the Sun on her back as a form of freedom. She didn't have to work for the nobles any longer and was allowed to chose whatever she wanted. After that, her uncle Jinbei patiently helped her open up. When he managed to do so, she let out tears that were held back for years. Hachi gave her new clothes and made her look like a girl again with silky orange hair.

Her body was shaking as Law opened the door and quickly checked on her. He had short black hair and dark circles under his eyes. He always eyed very tired and had a pale skin. It made him look as if he was permanent sick even though that wasn't the case. He told her that was because of a sickness he had when he was a child. His adoptive father managed to find a cure for him and these were the side effects.

She automatically stood up before he could pick her up like Sabo did before. With his help, she walked inside and immediately saw her uncle Jinbei sitting on the couch. He stood up and looked at her with his worried looking eyes.

Koala's legs started shaking and considering what state her body was in, she knew she would lose either her balance or consciousness any moment soon. She held onto Law's shirt to prevent herself from losing her balance and eyed Jinbei confused. After she was freed years ago they met the same way. Back then, she didn't know him at all so she couldn't trust him.

Now was a different situation. She knew him so well and he always took such good care of her. She started to think of him as a parent and told him almost everything going on in her life.

'' It's okay now, Koala. '' He started with a faint smile while his eyes still looked worried.

Her body was shaking all over and she barely managed to hold herself back. '' U-Uncle.. '' She muttered, completely lost.

Did Sabo tell her the truth? Was he really not a noble anymore and was she actually free? It didn't feel like it.. Somehow, her mind was still trying to tell her this wasn't right.

Jinbei approached her and held her face in his wrinkled hands.

Was she really going to let all the years of trust she build up with him be ruined because of the voice in her mind? Because of what happened in the past?

Koala hesitated whether it was okay for her to give in or not.

'' Stop fighting, Koala. Allow yourself to finish the fight and recover. ''

This time he got her. She couldn't hold back any longer. Clutching to Law's arm, she let the tears run free as she started crying out loud. Jinbei didn't mind them at all and wiped them away for her.

They hugged each other for a while until they heard a car outside. She looked helplessly at Law and he nodded. '' C'mon. You can go to my study. ''

She didn't want to go alone however and started to pull Law with her. He got the hint and followed.

In the study, someone else managed to follow too. She expected Jinbei, but it was Marco. '' Koala. '' He greeted in a daze. He closed the door and walked towards them.

She was barely able to stand now and just had to show them. Panting, she held up her blouse and showed Law what he needed to know.

Her legs felt numb and her head was throbbing. A feeling of nausea filled her throat and couldn't look down because the memory was still too lively for her to handle now.

A blue tint was shown on her stomach.

Both Marco and Law stayed quiet and stared at the bruise. She decided it was enough to explain the situation. '' D-Don't tell S-Sabo.. '' She mumbled, not wanting to see his face if he saw her again.

They made eye contact for a moment. Marco wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her to the couch so she could sit on it.

Koala was absentminded, not paying attention at all to her surroundings. Her mind was quiet and all she could think of was how tired she was both mentally and physically.

'' You're going to need therapy. '' Law stated as he kneeled down next to her to check on her. '' You'd normally need more than at least three months for full recovery, but I could also try just one month. ''

'' What? '' Marco replied surprised. '' You can't expect her to recover in just one month. This could take years even! ''

'' What about it, Koala? '' Law continued unimpressed.

'' As long as is needed. '' She muttered in response. She didn't care any longer. Koala was tired of having to live like this.

Law made his final decision. '' One month it is. ''

Marco sighed. '' You're unbelievable. '' He gave Koala a squeeze in her shoulder and made his out of the room.

'' You'll stay here during the month and won't attend school in the first two weeks. '' That meant she wouldn't go to the beach with the Club, but that was a minor worry. '' I want you to trust me this once, Koala. '' It never failed surprise her how few people she fully trusted in her life. The only one who knew her true self was Jinbei. She did show herself to some extent to Nami for example, but the annoying, curious, prank pulling Koala almost never showed herself. The terrified one however, that one showed herself almost always.

The young adult nodded in response and gulped, trying to back away the new tears that wanted to come out. She knew she could trust Law, but therapy meant something was wrong with her. '' I'm mad. '' She concluded.

'' No you're not. ''

'' The voice is definitely not a sign of madness. '' She fired back sarcastically.

Law sighed in response. '' No, Koala. It's something many people develop when they're scared. For example, someone with Anorexia Nervosa. Many girls and boys with this have a voice in their mind telling them what to do. When you're scared you start either convincing yourself or encourage your fears. It's really not such a strange thing. '' He explained soothingly. He wasn't really the kind to sweet-talk things, but he was getting close to it now.

'' It won't go away. '' She still tried stubbornly.

'' It will go away, that, I promise you. '' He squeezed her hand and urged her to lie down. '' I'll check your physical state for now and then I'll let you rest. You deserved at least eight hours of sleep. ''

Koala did as he told her and was left alone short afterwards with her thoughts.

* * *

 **Sabo:**

The tears wouldn't back down. He was so mad with himself. He felt guilty and stupid for crying. He didn't stop whoever was opening the car's door. A strong hand rested on his shoulder but Sabo didn't look up. He was still crying and refused to show it.

'' Sabo.. '' Ace's voice said. When did he come here? He must have come along with Marco.

Sabo shook his head in response, still refusing to show himself.

'' C'mon, move to the passenger's seat. I'll drive you home. Koala is going to be fine. Law just told us. ''

It still didn't convince Sabo to come out. He didn't feel like doing anything.

Ace sighed deeply, losing his patience. '' Oi, drowning yourself in your own sadness won't help you and neither will feeling guilty help. ''

'' Just leave me alone. '' He muttered, frustrated Ace didn't understand him and yet knew very well what was going through Sabo's mind.

'' No one will allow you to go back. I know you're planning on that, Sabo. You want to prevent others from getting hurt by your parents. I'm telling you, that's not the solution. ''

'' Then what is?! '' He finally looked up. Snot and tears were smeared on his face, but he couldn't care less about that. His brothers have seen worse of each other.

'' Showing your parents you can be happy and lead a good life without them trying to ruin it. ''

It sounded like the perfect scenario. Not feeling anything at all as his parents tried to make his life miserable. Only one thing was missing: He wasn't a damn robot.

How was he supposed to be happy while his parents did this to him? '' Ain't gonna work. '' He muttered again.

Ace snorted. '' Since when do you use that kind of accent? '' He knew he was persuading Sabo. He knew it worked, but Sabo simply refused to give in. He was stubborn like that.

'' This isn't as easy as that.. '' Sabo tried again.

'' Oh, now the depressed blond agrees to the fact there is no simple solution for this matter? That it isn't simply about you but something that involves an entire country? ''

Sabo took a deep breath to show his frustration and still refused to move.

'' And in case this doesn't convince you, this is my car. So move. '' Ace patted on his back as was meant as a friendly gesture but Sabo didn't buy it.

'' We're going to solve this somehow. You can't possibly think you can come up with a solution in this state. ''

Sabo moved to the passenger's seat, still not giving in nor did he agree with Ace, but listening nevertheless.

Ace started the car and drove them home.

'' What about Koala? '' Sabo asked curiously after a while. He had a tissue in his hands with which he had cleaned his face.

'' She'll stay at Law's for a month to recover. She won't come back to school for a while. Anyway, Law said she'd be fine and better than before actually. ''

'' How? ''

'' I have no idea, he said this time she already had people she partly opened up too while the first time.. She had no one. Somehow, this should enable her to get over this incident easier. '' He parked the car before the bar and turned to Sabo. ''Don't give up on her. It started off great between you two, don't let your parents ruin it for you. ''

'' I can't even look her in the eyes anymore, Ace. How am I supposed to build up something between us if I feel so guilty all the time? ''

'' Talk to her. '' Ace simply stated.

'' Hah? ''

'' You heard me. Talk. It's seriously the only thing you can do to know what the other is thinking or is going to do. Who knows what she will tell you? ''

Again, he knew Ace was right, but it couldn't be so easy. Besides, even if Koala was completely back to her old self, which he found strange because one month was nothing for such a trauma, who said she would actually forgive him? Could she face him considering what happened earlier? Recovering didn't mean not being scared anymore of nobles. Sabo was a noble, even if he didn't want to be one. He still carried their blood. Koala would forever be reminded of the incident.

Sabo shook his head.

'' Then I'll do it. ''

'' What? ''

'' If you're not going to talk to her, then I'll make sure to figure out what she wants. '' He stepped out and Sabo followed him.

'' You can't be serious! ''

'' Then what are you going to do? Just come inside Sabo. We'll figure out what to do later. You need some rest now. ''

He slammed the door shut. '' No, I don't! What's wrong with you today, Ace? ''

Ace opened the door to the bar and walked in. Sabo didn't feel like going inside feeling hurt his brother acted this way. He sat down on the pavement feeling empty all of the sudden and having a headache.

The fear that was shown in her eyes.. He'd never forget that. He doubted she would suddenly be happy after only a month. He just couldn't bring himself to have hope for that.

Luffy ran outside and wrapped his arms around the man's neck from behind. '' Are you alright? Please don't go back to them, Sabo! It will be fine, I'm sure Koala will be fine too! '' He said with a muffled voice because he was snuggling his face in Sabo's shirt.

'' Luffy.. I'm alright, but I can't assure you Koala will come back again. '' He didn't know why he said it, he didn't even know it for sure.

'' Huh? Why? You like her right? And she likes you. Nothing else matters! ''

'' It's not that easy, Lu.. ''

'' Then make it easy! '' Ace shouted from the door opening.

'' Oh and now you answer?! '' Sabo shouted back offended.

'' He's right. You like her. Nothing else should matter. '' Even though it was always a surprise when Luffy said a smart thing, it still didn't change Sabo's mind.

'' Listen, I'll see what- ''

'' No! '' They both shouted now. They never failed being loud.

'' I won't back down until you tell us you're not going back to these damned parents of yours and will talk to Koala. ''

Sabo took a deep breath. '' FINE! '' He yelled. '' I won't go back. I will talk to her. Happy now? ''

They both grinned like idiots and Ace joined the duo. He ruffled Sabo's hair. '' Good. ''

Luffy sat down next to Sabo. '' Can we eat now? ''

With that, Sabo couldn't help but let out a smile.

* * *

 **Answers:**

 **nakcabttak2** : Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! There is a lot more to this univers however as will be shown in the second City of Lost Dreams!

 **LittleMissTraffy** : Sarcastic or not, it's still good to have thought that because they do share a history hehe. And about Koala being a slave at the household: I have to disappoint you with that one. She wasn't. Sabo would've remembered her as he remembered the other slaves he'd seen at the Nobles' houses too. The dream is really some sort of fate twisting reality or maybe something from 'above' to show the readers how parallel Sabo and Koala's characteristics are. ^^

* * *

If y'all are interested in more, then please follow me as the author so you can wait for the updates. The second part won't be uploaded in this story, it will be an entirely new one.

This one, the first part, will have a epilogue!


	11. Chapter 11

_See the end of the chapter for information about City of Lost Dreams 2!_

 **(Review will be answered at the end of the chapter)**

 **I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS AND THE ONES THAT HELPED ME, GAVE ME ADVICE AND HAD A LOT OF PATIENCE. I'm seriously proud of how it turned out. Thanks to this, I'm planning to do a lot more and my lifegoal of releasing a book some day in my life is a tiny little bit closer now!**

 **Enjoy the final chapter which will be half an open ending because there will be a continuation I'm really excited for!**

* * *

 _~One month later~_

 **Koala : **

* _Bzztt Bzztt_ *

'' Turn off that damned phone of yours, Koala! '' Nami grunted under the blankets.

Koala rubbed her eyes and tried to search for her phone under the pillow. '' Sorry.. '' Once she found it, she checked who sent her a message so early in the morning.

[ **I'm expecting you at work in an hour. XOXO, Izo** ]

She sighed and hid her face in the pillow. The day she would leave Law's house was the day he expected her at work. A bit soon perhaps? He probably wanted to catch up on everything with her and really, Koala could use some distraction now and start earning money again. She was rather glad she managed to show more of herself during the past month and learned to accept things for what they were. This included learning to accept people more in her life. Izo was one of them and he might be clingy sometimes, he was a real sweetheart that always wished the best for people. He also told her he tried to teach her some 'ladylike manners' because Koala didn't have that many females in her life to take as an example. The only one was Nami and now Robin a little too.

Nami introduced her to some of her female friends and Koala started to notice what she missed out on all these years. That's why Izo tried to show her the things that were 'normal' for a teenage girl throughout the years when Koala still had no one, only Jinbei and Marco.

'' Who was it? '' Nami asked with her eyes closed, apparently trying to get back to sleep somehow.

'' Izo. He wants me to come to work. '' She threw off the blanket and Nami wrapped herself in it.

'' Already? Damn, it's the day you get out of this place and he wants to see you right away? ''

'' Well, he couldn't visit me that much. Law wouldn't allow that because of the therapy thing. You get to be here because yeah.. you know what I mean.. '' She didn't feel like saying it because Nami knew what all this was about.

Law did everything in steps with Koala. By taking one step at a time she managed to recover and improve herself. One part of this therapy, and an important one according to him, was the family and friend visits. At first, he didn't allow everyone to come here. Only Jinbei, Nami and Marco visited regularly because they knew how to handle Koala. The others had to wait until she was ready for it.

Somehow, it helped her slowly get used to more people and open up to them a little. This weekend, Nami was even allowed to stay over which Koala appreciated a lot. She missed the girls' nights like watching movies, eat as much as possible, make mixed drinks and chat until the morning (Which Law didn't like at all and started to regret allowing Nami to stay over).

The first two weeks were terrible for Koala. The therapy was really tiring and Law asked a lot from her. She had to do a lot of things to learn to accept her past and move forward. She was thankful Law had so much patience and did his utmost best to help her because she even tried to run away once in the first week.

One thing that was still unsettling for her was the fact Sabo never visited. Not that she would be able to face him herself, but it was one thing Law actually still wanted her to do. He would be the final step because he was there when it happened and because Koala had feelings for him it would prove for her whether she could really get over her past or not since he was indirectly part of it.

Koala wanted to build up a relationship with the man. She was still amazed with herself how easily she opened up to him back when they were in the bar. She was afraid however, he wouldn't want to see her any longer or things wouldn't work out because of her invisible wall she had around her.

She promised Law to talk to him.. but Koala was the worst at starting conversations, so how was she supposed to this without closing completely?

'' Hm.. As long as you come to the bar tonight. ''

'' I don't know Nami. This is all so sudden.. I don't want everyone to suddenly turn around and stare at me as soon as I walk in or worse: Not seeing me standing at all. '' She was used to that..

'' Oh come on. '' Nami turned around to face the other. '' I promise you. It will be fine. Okay? ''

Koala sighed, knowing there was no going against Nami. '' Alright. '' She whispered.

Nami smiled and got up. '' Well then! Let's get ready. I'm not going to stay here any longer either. ''

After half an hour they were ready to go downstairs. Koala made her way to Law's study while Nami would prepare their breakfast.

She knocked on the door and after he said she could come in, she opened it and walked in. '' 'Morning. '' She greeted hesitantly.

'' Good morning. '' He took off his reading glasses and looked up. '' So, how are you? ''

'' Good I guess. A bit nervous. '' She answered after sitting down on the couch.

He nodded. '' You've come far, Koala. You'll do just fine out there. ''

She wasn't too sure about that yet, but she took the compliment gratefully. She crossed her legs and held a pillow in her arms. '' I'm still not sure about Sabo.. Haven't you spoken to him? Did he say anything about me at all? '' She was craving for more information about him. Anything would do. She didn't want to draw a conclusion and mess things up because others knew stuff that happened the past month and she didn't.

'' I haven't and I can't tell you how the conversation will go. All I can advice you is to have a third opinion with you at that time. One who won't take a side between you two and will lead the conversation. ''

Koala found it a good advice. Not only because the conversation would go properly, but also because she simply had no idea what to tell him. She was afraid he wouldn't be able to talk to her either, so who was going to take the first step? That person taking the lead could be the solution to that.

She already had someone in mind and was sure Sabo would find him a good mediate too from what she knew about him.

'' What are your plans for today? '' He asked not waiting for a response.

'' Visiting Izo, or working at Izo's place. I haven't made up my mind on that yet and I'm not sure whether he wants me to come for work or to simply catch up on things. And Nami wants me to go to the bar tonight. ''

'' And what do you want? ''

'' I think I'll just go.. ''

'' Good decision. I smell coffee. Well then, Koala. We already had a long talk yesterday about your leave, so I guess there's not much to say any longer, is there? ''

'' Hhmm.. I have no questions I think. Thank you for everything Law. I really appreciate it. There is no doctor who could have done it better. ''

'' And shorter. '' He added, not surprised by the compliment at all. He was that confident in his skills.

Koala stood up, with a smile on her face, and walked through the door after he opened it to let her through. He followed her to the kitchen where Nami prepared a delicious breakfast.

She and Nami had baked eggs, toasted bread, strawberries and coffee. Law didn't like bread so he had just strawberries and coffee. He didn't really eat that much.

Nami gave Koala a ride to her work where her bike was already parked in front by someone. Nami wished Koala a good day and couldn't wait until the evening.

Walking in, she was met with a hug from the cross-dresser. '' Oh, I'm so glad you're back! We have so much catching up to do! Did you like the books I sent you? Did they help a little? Tell me everything that happened! ''

Just as she expected, he wanted to chat with her. '' So.. What about work then? '' She asked hesitantly.

Izo waved with his hand. '' What kind of boss would I be if I let you work on the day you were released from that prison? No girl, this is called relaxing. A cup of tea, chocolate chip cookies and chatting. What could be possibly better than that? And there are not many customers today in the city. '' When he saw her confused look, he quickly added: '' Don't worry, it's not because of the Government. We already checked on that. '' He winked and took her to the back of the store where couches and carpets were placed as a corner for the customers to read books.

A silver tray with tea and cookies was already prepared and placed on the small side table. As he served the eastern tea, Koala couldn't help but be curious. '' From which country are you? Originally I mean.. ''

'' Wanokuni. The country of samurai. ''

'' Are you a samurai too? '' She loved the eastern arts. She was practicing karate herself and would never stop doing so either.

'' Nope. '' He grinned proudly as if that was a big achievement and passed her the stone cup. He took place on the couch and held his hand under his chin. '' Well? ''

'' Hm? '' She asked startled because she was paying attention to the delicious fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

'' How was it? The past month? And take a cookie already. Why the shy act? You know you can do as you like here. '' He smirked at her which made her blush from embarrassment.

Koala took a cookie and a small bite before explaining. '' I'm not really in the mood to tell you what a hard time I gave Law. I even cursed him a few times.. '' She muttered the last part because Koala almost never really cursed. Jinbei taught her 'manners' and somehow, she never really used them.

Izo had a gentle look in his eyes. '' It only means you survived another battle. '' He sipped his tea while waiting for her response.

She didn't really know how to answer to that. She guessed it was true in a way, but it wasn't something she was proud of. Instead of answering him, she asked him a question. '' Did Sabo say anything at all? ''

Obsessed much? She didn't really know why she wanted to know more about him so badly. Maybe it was a way for her to prepare the conversation that was coming up or maybe she would get some answers to her questions.

'' Why don't you ask him? '' He fired back another question really casually as if nothing was wrong.

'' Really now? I'm craving for more information and none of you want to tell me anything about him? ''

'' What's the point of life if there isn't a bit of mystery in the concept 'love'? ''

'' Moh! I've had enough mystery for five lifetimes! '' She answered a bit irritated.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and urged to eat her cookie. She looked back stubbornly but lost the fight. Don't ever try to win a staring battle from Izo. He'd always win.

Defeated, she took another bite.

'' You're going to do just fine. '' He said, telling her the same thing as Law.

'' How do you know that? ''

'' Because this time, you've got us. ''

It was a thing that was said many times, everywhere in the world, in books, in movies, at school, but it still made her fall quiet. A lump formed in her throat as she realized she did have friends now where she could fall back on and depend on them for help whenever she wanted.

Koala rested her head on his shoulder and somehow, relief washed over her as the stress and pain lessened a little. A warm feeling entered her body because she always secretly loved receiving affection from others.

Cuddling, sweet talk.. She loved it, but naturally, didn't receive it much. Izo was always one to show a lot affection once he really liked you as a friend or family member.

He played with her hair and his calm nature made Koala feel at ease. Even though she never wanted to realize it, now she knew how much of a good friend Izo always had been for her. He never gave up on her and always fulfilled his promises.

'' Thank you for everything, Izo. '' She whispered with a smile playing on her lips.

'' That's what friends are for sweetheart. '' He whispered back and Koala nuzzled her face in his shoulder because a tear managed to escape her eyes.

He laughed loudly and caressed her hair until she came out again. '' You really have strong abs, don't you? '' She asked surprised.

'' Hm? How come? '' He pursed his lips and let go of the girl. '' Now are we going to eat these cookies yet or not? ''

* * *

 **Sabo:**

He heard from Nami Koala would visit the bar that night and finished her therapy at Law's. This made him extremely nervous as he didn't know how to approach her and what to tell her. He repeated an entire explanation in his head over and over again until it sounded lame and he had to go to uncle Edward for help. The only reaction he received from the old man was his unique Gurarara-laugh and left him feeling even more miserable. The old man reassured him he just had to step towards her and see what happens.

Easier said than done..

Not to mention that Sabo knew if he was going to approach her he wouldn't be able to say anything at all.

He'd been thinking about what happened a month ago a lot and still wasn't sure what he wanted himself. He still felt like he should take responsibility for what happened, that wouldn't change. His parents stayed quiet the entire month (Partly because of uncle Edward) and things have calmed down in the familia.

Ace told him Marco had been upset for quite some time too. Apparently, Ace thought, Marco had been blaming himself a little for what happened to Koala since he was her mentor and felt responsible for protecting her. No one blamed him, especially not Sabo.

Sabo already drank two beers and had to be forced by Ace to stop. It was better to save it for after the talk, according him, which made Sabo only more nervous.

Nami was now explaining to everyone why they didn't have to ask questions or give Koala weird glances since that would make her really uncomfortable. Luffy kept on asking her questions as to what he could and couldn't do: Was he allowed to say hi, could he offer her meat (Because that will definitely solve all her problems!), can he make jokes, could he ask her whether she pooped… and so on.

Nami hit him on the head, leaving him without answers and now he sat in-between his brothers moping he was Koala's friend and wanted to get to know her.

Sabo couldn't really concentrate on anything and waited nervously until the girl he fell in love with would finally arrive at the bar.

His stomach clenched and he kept on moving, not being able to sit still just like Luffy always did whenever he had too much energy and looked at least fifteen times at the entrance just to check Koala hasn't arrived yet.

At some point, when Sabo really couldn't take it anymore, his brother Ace ran towards the entrance and suddenly had a very nervous and angry looking Koala high up in the air. He was tilting her up by her arms while she struggled against his grasp by trying to kick her small but strong legs in his stomach and legs. She didn't manage however as Ace was too busy laughing and shouting: '' Miss Shorty finally arrived people! ''

Sabo and a furious looking Marco both rushed towards the scene as Koala's head couldn't have been any more red.

'' What do you think you're doing?! '' Sabo shouted at Ace.

All the freckled man could do however was laugh. People patted Koala on her shoulder when he put her down and Ace received a punch on his head from both Nami and Sanji.

'' I was just trying to break the ice for her since everyone was being so tense. '' Ace pouted and scratched his head in pain.

When Sabo turned to check on Koala he noticed she was hiding behind Marco and holding on to his shirt. Could he just admit that looked really adorable?

This situation aside, she looked more confident. Maybe it was because of her clothes, he didn't know, but she was wearing a high waist short pants with several golden buttons, a loose cherry colored shirt tugged in it and the same colored ballerina shoes. It wasn't a common style and rather unique and daring for someone to wear. He may not care about fashion, but any person would turn around and watch her in awe. She simply rocked in them as it showed all her curves and made her look even more adorable.

Other than her clothes, she eyed more certain now. Before the incident, she always a had a worried look that never disappeared. She now had the gleam in her eyes constantly as he really loved.

Sabo noticed the way he was thinking about her and was really hesitating whether to make it up with her or leave things for good. He swore to himself he would tell her his feelings and hear her out, but then? What would he do afterwards? She was the first and only girl he really fell for.

They didn't have a relationship and they had known each other for only a short time, but it still felt like he knew her for months already and they felt comfortable in each other's presence so easily. All the others would find it a true waste to give it up now and Sabo thought so too, but he also thought rushing things would be bad. Even though Koala finished her therapy, the memories were still there. They definitely were for Sabo and he wouldn't forget so easily what his father did to her.

'' Want to do it now? '' Marco asked Koala. Do what? The talk? Already? It was too soon! He had been waiting the entire day already, but it was too soon! He wasn't ready!

'' Sabo? Can you come outside please? '' Marco asked him this time. He could use a training for saying things in a more subtle way.

He nodded nervously and quickly glanced at Koala who was doing a great job at hiding behind her mentor.

He followed them outside where the sun was almost down. It had now the same color as Koala's hair.

He stood there uncomfortably and Marco had to drag Koala from behind him to stand next to Sabo. She shifted from one foot to the other and they both jumped in surprised when Marco asked them a question.

'' Let me ask you this. What's holding you two back from dating each other? ''

He knew what happened, why even ask?

Koala answered however almost directly, which surprised him.

'' Because of what happened a month ago, of course. I.. '' She looked away suddenly, not explaining anything else.

If she wasn't going to say her part, then what choice was left for him? He'd better come up with his part then. '' I can't face her like this. Not after what my family did to her. I'd always make her remember it.. '' He answered quietly, carefully avoiding Koala.

She wanted to say something, but Marco gently cut her off. '' So the guilt is still there? ''

So that was what he was doing.. He wanted them both to state their opinion so he could find a midway. If Sabo admitted his feeling of guilt, then Koala was bound to state her opinion on that.

He knew he didn't do it himself back then. His parents were at fault, but that didn't take away Sabo was from their lineage and caused all these events indirectly by running away from home years ago. He couldn't live with the thought of how much his father managed to abuse Koala into the state of actually thinking she was a slave and not worthy of a human life.

Anger flared inside him once again just thinking about it. How could he possibly enjoy a happy relationship between them with the thought of those terrified eyes and forced smile on her face as she had to accept him as her master?

This wasn't some pretty fairy tale where they would get to live happily ever after.

'' Listen, I admit that I started to have feelings for you Koala. '' He turned his attention towards her. '' I was really enjoying our time together and I was about to get to know you. It was the first time I had the motivation to actually fight for a girl. I never felt like this before and it was amazing, but after what happened.. It hurts me every time when I think of you having been so hurt by my father. It makes me both furious and sad. I don't want to be the cause of you having to be reminded of that time either. I won't tell you to find someone better than me even though you do deserve much better, I'm telling you that it's just too hard for me to move on so easily with this. I still need to solve the problems between me and my family and I don't want to drag you with me into.. into these things. It's just.. '' He was lost for words. He kept on rambling on and made it worse by every word he said. Where was the confidence when he made up his mind to tell her his honest feelings now? Why did it feel so forced and stupid all of the sudden?

Koala gulped, still not looking at him which prevented him from knowing what she was thinking or feeling.

What did she want? Even if they wouldn't end up together, he still wanted to hear what was on her mind. He wanted to help her somehow..

'' What do you think, Koala? '' Marco asked indifferently as if he was the judge in a court.

She looked up at him with a pained look.

'' I.. I did want to build up something between us. Sabo, you're not at fault here. '' While she muttered the first part, the last part came out very confidently. He kind of expected her to say it.. '' If anything, I think you saved me back there. If you weren't there, then what would've happened? If you waited even a few hours longer, then I w-wouldn't be there anymore. ''

Did he mean her conscious part? He didn't really get the last part, but a surprised feeling entered his stomach when she said she wanted to build up a relationship with him. He didn't think the same way however. He caused it, so how did he save her at all?

She looked him in the eyes and forced him to look back. She had a determined look telling him not to dare to deny it. He gulped realizing what he would have to miss if he ended things now.

'' I don't expect you to get over things this quickly, Sabo. But the last thing I want you to do is just end things as if nothing happened at all. ''

One month ago she wouldn't even make a decision without someone else having to give her a push in her back and now she was trying to change his mind because of something she wanted so badly.

It would be selfish to put an end to it now after she managed to improve herself this much in such a short amount of time. That was the problem however, he didn't want to only do it for her sake. He wanted to do it for himself too. He was afraid he would mess it up so badly because of his guilt..

Marco coughed. '' Alright, I get the idea of it now. Why don't you two start dating now and meanwhile, we'll try to do whatever we can to help you solve the problems with your parents? ''

Wasn't that the exact problem? '' Uh, Marco? ''

'' No. I really won't have it otherwise. You're doing exactly what your parents want you to do. You've got an amazing girl right here that is willing to fight for the dream you both share, to have your freedom. What's stopping you? The chains of your past? Koala seemed to manage to make peace with it, now it is your turn Sabo. '' Marco explained with a stern look. Wasn't he supposed to be the one without an opinion? Did even the pineapple ship them that much?

A nagging thought told Sabo both Marco and Koala weren't going to give in but neither was Sabo. He knew he was too stubborn for his own good, but it was a trait he inherited that wouldn't really disappear.

Koala turned completely to him now and held his hand. She intertwined their fingers and looked at him questioningly as if asking whether he was fine with it or not. He knew she was waiting for his response, this was another way for her to try to persuade him and it was working.

Sabo remembered the few times he held her hand and looked at her uncertainly, not sure whether she was fine with it or not.

She was doing the same thing now. Was he going to give in? He felt her warm, soft and gentle hands touching his as it was waiting for him to close his hand for the answer. '' I-It's really okay? '' He asked quietly because he was showing his insecure side for the first time to the female. She nodded with a small smile playing around her lips.

He embraced her hand and caressed her thumb with his as butterflies made themselves known in his stomach. Then, she did another unexpected thing. She rested her head on his chest, hugging him with her other arm, hiding her flushed cheeks and big smile.

He looked up at Marco but he managed to disappear into the bar already. So far the conversation? Was that what uncle Edward meant? Just go and you'll see what happens?

For the moment, he didn't mind and gladly wrapped his other arm around the girl's back. Since she was so small, he couldn't really hold her waist, but had his arm rested just under her shoulders. He rested his face on her hair, smelling the sweet shampoo.

Another cough was heard by the both of them as they looked up, not letting go of each other.

The happy feeling disappeared instantly and made place for nerves and a bit of fear when he saw who it was.

Several men, the Sun members to be precise, stood before them with their muscled arms crossed and stern looks.

Hachi, Aladdin, Hack, Boss Jinbei and few other men all looked at Sabo as if he was a threat.

Boss Jinbei however, had a slightly gentler look as he was looking at Koala.

She pouted innocently and looked daringly at the men. How she managed to look both innocent and stubborn he didn't know, he saw it as a practiced tactic of hers.

'' I see you both it made it up. '' Boss Jinbei greeted.

Sabo looked down at the girl he fell in love with and made a silent agreement with her.

'' Boss? '' He started with a slightly higher voice because his nerves refused to back down. It was hard after all with all these Sun members standing in front of him. They all came from different countries, some from the south as was shown because of their dark brown skins, others from the eastern countries as they proudly showed with their clothes and hair and others were from ancestors with Latin backgrounds who used to have their own tribes.

One did not simply mess with them.

Boss Jinbei looked questioningly at him and even Koala moved slightly to have a clear look at him. Was this a test?

'' I.. I would like to ask permission to date your daughter sir. '' He asked while holding this very daughter.

Jinbei smiled at him and spread his arms. '' Of course. Welcome to the family Sabo. '' The tension left quickly in the group as they began to smile themselves and started to make jokes already.

To think these were the men that protected one small and insecure girl. They really treated her as their own little sister or in Boss Jinbei's case: As his daughter.

That day, Sabo knew if he ever managed to break Koala's heart, they would hunt him until the deepest pits of hell.

All of them, except for one left to meet the others in the bar. The one who stayed was probably older than Sabo. He had a brown skin, strong abs he didn't hide at all and his eyes showed nothing but strength and honesty.

He smiled however and shook Koala's hand after she gently pulled away from Sabo.

'' Naasir. It's good to see you again. How was Shaboady? ''

He raised his eyebrows and sighed. '' Same as always. Managed to finish the business though. Boss is giving me a position now. ''

What on earth were they talking about? He knew the Sun members had their own way of dealing. They had their own infamous business. Sabo didn't know what to think of this Naasir yet, though, he wasn't worried. The Sun members were some sort of family right?

She eyed nothing but gentleness and confidence now which Sabo knew was something he was going to love about her soon, if not already.

'' Amazing! Congrats! I'm sure you'll do just fine. ''

'' Yeah, thanks. Congratulations you two. You deserved it, Koala. '' He bumped her gently against her shoulder and made her beam with excitement.

He then turned towards Sabo. '' Take good care of her man. I know where to find you. '' He said it with a smile, but the threat was kind of hard to miss.

'' Y-Yeah. I'll do my best and won't fail you all. '' He answered, stumbling over his words.

To break the tension, Koala spoke up. '' Want to go inside? We can talk more there. ''

Did she really have to talk more with Naasir? He had to admit he didn't really look forward to it.

Once inside, they were given each a beer.

'' Yo Naasir! You're back! Welcome man! '' Ace shouted happily as he approached the trio. '' We missed you at the gym. Zoro is beating you at it. ''

Naasir chuckled. '' I'm looking forward to tomorrow then! ''

'' You bet! '' Ace answered with a grin. '' Koala, Sabo. Congrats. '' Ace had an evil smile on his face which Sabo took as a sign he was planning on something again. '' I see you met Naasir, my sweet brother? ''

Both Naasir and Koala looked around at him a little startled which said more than enough for him. '' O-Oh.. Right.. '' He muttered, not knowing how to respond.

After all this time, now this had to happen? Great timing..

'' H-He's not my ex if that's what you think.. '' Koala tried to explain with a worried look.

'' Oh no, of course! You dated each other a few times only right? '' Ace continued. Sometimes, Sabo really wanted to punch him. This was one of those times. The tension was completely back and Marco showed up once more to pull away the freckled man.

'' Sorry, he's had a bit of alcohol. It kind of turns him into an oblivious jerk. '' Sabo muttered at the two.

Naasir scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. '' It's fine, really. Koala is like my little sister. We knew the moment we started dating actually. It wasn't going to work out anyway. I'm happy for you two. '' After holding up his hand and mentioning Koala's name once more he followed Ace, probably to punch him for Sabo's sake, at least, that's what he hoped.

'' Great guy. '' Sabo said with a forced smile.

Koala pouted in return and he couldn't help but touch her lower lip with his finger. Seriously, the concept pout was made for her. She could be the queen of pouts if necessary.

Her cheeks flushed.

'' Let's join up with the others, okay? '' He asked with a genuine smile this time. Koala nodded happily as he stopped caring about Naasir after one last nagging thought: _So that was where she got the experience from…._

* * *

 **An open ending. Will the relationship between Sabo and Koala work out? Will Sabo be able to solve his problems with his family lineage? And how about his scar? What exactly happened to him? What about Ace and Marco? Ace was acting strange at some parts, what's up with that? How does the system in this country work exactly? I'm curious about the other characters! Will there be more revealed about them?**

 **I know these are questions that probably not only, but also I have still. What will happen indeed? Thanks to the sweetheart Ezaria I have a lot of ideas I'm super excited for to write out. I still need to come up with a proper plot, but the background is there! Now the rest.**

 **If you want to continue reading CoLD2 then please follow me as the author to receive the email notification whenever I have a new story or chapter, because people: An Epiloge for this part in on its way too!**

 **Thank you all and hopefull until soon!**

 **Pppssstt: This is only the beginning for what is to come..! :o**

* * *

 ** _Answer:_**

 _ **LittleMissTraffy** : haha well, here is the chapter and I hope it's a bit satisfying for you (and making you excited for what is to come). Thank you a lot for all your reviews! ^^ _


	12. Chapter 12

_**Epilogue**_

 **A/N: Koala passes the story on to Ace. Here is a part of what she's written in her Memo. She always carries it around with her. Here, she describes how she met Ace one week after her recovery at Law's house. She treats this memo as if she's saying all this to her uncle Tiger. It's something to give herself some peace of mind and show her emotions and thoughts in a way. Law approves of this and asks her to do this more often, especially during the recovery. Since Koala is a storyteller herself, she'll describe it in a way a story would be told.**

 **I chose to write something about the recovery because a friend and I too were really interested in that part. Normally, an epilogue is about some time in the future, but I chose to show something about the month Koala stayed over at Law's. I hope all of you will find this interesting too. ( There will be a part about her current situation after the Memo part too!)**

 **Enjoy! And let me know your thoughts! (See end of chapter for another A/N)**

 **Small trigger warning** **: This is really psychological and full with dark angst. It could trigger some people. A disorder will be mentioned, so will her post-traumatic state of mind be mentioned in detail. Keep in mind this is entirely Koala's interpretation of the situation.**

* * *

 _[Memo: 25 October]_

 _It's been two weeks since I've been at Law's place for rehabilitation. I am really tired when writing this down. It was another long day full with social skills training and sessions with Law. Every time I have to talk with him it feels like my brain is literally being drained of energy. He says I'm getting better and I'm improving my competences even though I don't really see any changes myself. After fourteen days I'd expect to see some changes because he is so confident about me recovering in a month but we're already halfway through.. I just don't get it. What is the point of all this? After all that's happened.. Does he really expect me to be 'normal' like any other human being? The memories will always be there. The secrets will always be there. The questions will always be there. I can't simply get over all that. This is too much. Law told me something today.. Something very confusing and I don't want to believe it.. I don't want to be labeled like that.. He said I'm showing symptoms of a reactive attachment disorder.._

 _The name only…_

 _I can't have that.._

 _I don't push people away, not once I really trust them. He knows why I'm like this. How does that mean I have an attachment disorder. I get why he thinks that could be the case and maybe I do have some symptoms of it._

 _But the feeling of having an actual disorder.._

 _Uncle.. I hate that._

 _I trust the Sun members, Nami, Marco and Law with my life. I would never push them away!_

 _I'm just scared to lose people, to get hurt or hurt them._

 _When that creepy smile appeared on my face in front of that Ranya girl she called me a creep, which is obvious! I was a creep indeed. I hate that smile and it's an awful habit to have left from my childhood._

 _And sure, I did miss out on important phases in my childhood because I was a slave, but that's why Marco, Law and me have been working on my progress the past few years right?_

 _You know, the first week I didn't want to participate at all. I just couldn't bring myself to do it._

 _It hurt._

 _Not physically, but mentally._

 _I even ran away and Marco, Ace and Law ended up searching for me.. I know I couldn't handle myself at that moment, but it felt so.. as if I was the mad one.. I know it's stupid, but that's really just what I thought._

 _It was in the middle of the night when I ran away and it seemed hours before I stopped running. I was somewhere in the back streets and hearing the sea in the distance managed to calm me down a little._

 _At some point, and I don't know how they found me, Ace came walking down road and sat down next to me. Oddly enough, he seemed quite relaxed. His arms rested on his knees and he stared at the sky where the stars shone brightly._

 _I didn't feel like explaining myself, nor did I understand why Ace wasn't saying anything or taking any action.. He found me right? So why not bring me back? Instead, he kept on staring at the sky and waited until I would start talking._

 _But I wasn't going to talk.. I felt vulnerable and weak. The last I needed was having to explain myself. How was he going to understand anyway?_

 _It wasn't like Ace and I knew each other very well. Back when Marco took me in temporarily, Ace had been there too with Luffy._

 _The little brother always tried to talk to me but I never responded. Ace didn't try either. He was there for his own reasons and didn't particularly trust anyone back then. So we ended not getting to know or trust each other at all until Sabo and I met many years later._

 _I kept my legs pulled up with my face hidden in my arms. As I refused to look up at first because the tears refused to stop coming out Ace rested his hand on my upper arm and gently caressed it._

 _I never really paid attention to it, but somehow, he did manage to calm me down. It probably took him an hour or so, but sometimes a simple gesture does a lot right?_

 _Ace had this calming aura engulfing him even though he always seemed so reckless and was always joking around.._

'' _I-I'm not going back.. '' I muttered with a muffled voice._

'' _I'm not asking you to, Koala. '' He answered soothingly._

'' _Then why are you here? '' I still didn't look up.._

'' _I was wondering why you decided to run away from your battle. ''_

'' _Battle? '' What was he saying?_

'' _Yeah.. '' He squeezed in my arm a little before continuing. '' Hey, listen.. I know this shit ain't easy, in fact, it's really tough to deal with and everyone knows that. Law asks a lot from you, he knows that perfectly well himself. It's just, he is also confident you can do it. He has faith in you. This sounds really philosophical and all, but for you, it's a battle. A tough one you have to win. '' He brought his face closer to mine, not that it would enable him to see my face now.. '' You've got to find a way so you won't have to give up. ''_

 _I quietly listened to what he had to say but did he really expect me to change my mind just because of a good lecture from him? It did trigger me however as a lump formed in my throat and my arms slowly but surely started to shake again. This was exactly the feeling I tried to run from earlier. I hated these feelings.. They made me feel weak. '' I'm mad.. '' I whispered without thinking._

 _I could feel him moving slightly. '' Why? ''_

 _Slowly looking up I met with his gaze. He always had this evil looking glare but now nothing but confidence like Sabo's and care was shown in them. He was wearing his orange cowboy hat with his black knee long trousers and of course.. no tee. '' I'm traumatized, never really recovered.. And because of what happened two weeks ago, how can I not be mad? ''_

'' _I see a girl trying to live through the day though. And being mad doesn't have to be bad. '' He raised his eyebrows and then smirked._

 _Confused, which was clearly shown on my face he explained._

'' _I made you look up. ''_

'' _How is that an achievement? '' I asked a little offended. Was that really what he was trying to do?_

'' _It didn't look like you were going to open up to me at all, but here you are, confessing what you find a bad trait about yourself while looking me in the eyes. '' I didn't really get why looking at him was so important for him. '' It shows you did improve, Koala. ''_

'' _How? '' I now whispered._

'' _Remember when we just met? ''_

'' _Back when Marco found me on the street? ''_

'' _Yeah, we never even said hi to each other, let alone talk. Well, it was partly my fault but alas. We refused to acknowledge each other until you met Sabo a few weeks ago. ''_

 _I guessed there was some difference between back then and now but what was the point of mentioning that now? '' I think you changed more than I did then. ''_

'' _What makes you think that? '' He asked raising one eyebrow so high it made me question his physique in general. He whisked some hair strands from my forehead with an amused smirk._

'' _Well, you're the one trying to communicate with me. All I do is avoid everyone. '' Before I could regret it I blurted it out. And hell, I did regret saying it now because it meant Ace had won our discussion. This was kind of the point he was trying to make right? A light blush made itself known on my cheeks and I quickly looked away, refusing to simply give in._

'' _Or are you trying to get some space since you're not used to be confined so much? '' I didn't want to look at his smug expression, because I just knew he felt superior for having achieved this. I wasn't easy to deal with as everyone knew.._

'' _You seem to know a lot about all this mental stuff. '' Still looking away I said it with a pout but as he didn't answer I had no choice but to turn back to look at him. He seemed to be in deep thought and his normal grumpy look was back on his face. I thought his rather caring look was a tad more adorable. '' Did I offend you? '' I asked hesitantly._

 _Ace shook his head while clenching his jaw. '' Everyone has their own story right? '' He simply answered which confused me. I could think of the several meanings behind these words but as I thought he indicated here he didn't want to talk about it, then who was I to ask?_

 _Holding back my curiosity I stared forward at the tiles covering the house in front of us. Red, orange and yellow flowers were painted on them for decoration. '' I'll go back.. '' I finally answered after we both stayed quiet for what seemed more than a few minutes only._

 _He sighed deeply and brought his forehead to the side of my head. '' If there's anything I can help you with like running away from Law for a day, then I'll gladly help you, Koala. I really hope we can get along from now on. I'm not going to let you leave Sabo just like that after all. '' With a knowing smile he pulled back and stood up. He reached out his hand for me so I could get up easier. I looked at it, thinking about his words once again. Since when was he able to use such deep words? He really left me thinking a lot._

 _Knowing I could trust him I took his hand and stood up._

* * *

 **~ Three months after Koala's recovery~**

 **Ace:**

'' I still wonder why you showed me this. You make me sound evil, Koala. '' Ace finally spoke up after Koala showed him her memo.

They were sitting on the sofa in the living room of his and his two brothers' home. Koala was clutching to a pillow he was starting to feel sorry for and as always, he had a hard time being his usual 'mean' self in front of her. She had these extreme puppy eyes and pout after all. It was kind of hard refusing that.

'' I appreciate it though. It really helped me to understand you better. '' He quickly added. She slowly took her memo back as the front door opened and the blondie walked in. He wrapped his arms around Koala's neck and kissed her from above on her mouth. Koala, of course, eagerly kissed back and when Ace noticed Sabo's tongue trying to slip into her mouth Ace made a dissatisfied noise like an angry duck. '' Not here! Damn, you just got back man! ''

Sabo pulled back and snickered. '' I've got to show her my love. ''

'' With your tongue? Keep it to the bedroom. You're together long enough now, no need to brag about it to everyone. ''

Koala had an apologetic look on her face while staring at her memo. Sabo noticed it and smiled. '' It's alright baby, I know. '' He meant he knew how much it took her to reveal something about herself and he really had all the patience in the world to allow Koala trying to open up to Sabo and all the others in the familia.

Ace actually felt really honored and surprised she came to him with the part where he found her alone in the backstreets.

He now understood how much it hurt Sabo having had to witness Koala in such a vulnerable state. Ace had felt quite the same. It really was as if they could break her so easily as if you were trying to hold ice and make sure it wouldn't break until you showed it to the others.

Sabo nuzzled his face on top of her head and stayed quiet now, expecting no answer from Koala.

Ace thought about the stuff he told Koala back then and found it strange that was one of the things she truly cherished. He didn't say anything that important right? He mostly rambled on hoping he could persuade her into going back to Law. And maybe he was trying so hard for Sabo's sake too. He had never seen him so quickly opening up to a girl and trying his hardest to earn her trust. It would be a waste if it ended just like that.

Koala had gotten accustomed to everything and they really had gotten close to each other. And not only that. She had also opened up to more people, including Ace and Luffy and was starting to genuinely enjoy her life more now.

Sabo seemed to be brimming with excitement and couldn't hold back any longer. '' I found a publisher who is going to release my book! '' He excitedly shouted now literally jumping around in the room. '' It's not that expensive either! The cover is going to look so awesome! '' Hold his fists happily before his chest with his wide grin he looked at Ace and Koala, waiting for their response.

Koala's eyes beamed with excitement too and congratulated her boyfriend happily.

'' Hey, well done! Now you can get angry readers and fangirls that will write smutty fanfiction about your male characters! '' Lost for other and perhaps better or at least encouraging words, Ace really was happy for him. He had searched for one for a long time now and really was planning to make it his career. This was a good start.

Sabo stopped dancing mid-air with an annoyed look and went back to nuzzling with Koala instead.

She sighed and showed Ace she was clearly not satisfied with the way he congratulated his brother, though, it really was just Ace being Ace.

Someone had to state the truth right?

* * *

 **Yoo~**

 **I finally finished the Epilogue and hope it's satisfying enough for everyone! I don't really know when I'll release CoLD2 which could be just as interesting as the first part!**

 **I want to thank you all for you support in this and hope for more in the future! (You'll have to follow me to receive a mail when I'll start updating the second part!)**

 **See ya!**


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